For the 5th straight year, the NC Soccer player of the year is from Mecklenburg County
Lake Norman Charter’s Ayden Yates is the 2020 Gatorade N.C. soccer player of the year. She is the first player from her high school to earn the award in soccer.
The Gatorade award signifies outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.
Yates, a 5-foot-6 senior forward, had six goals and two assists this spring season, which was abruptly ended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Lake Norman Charter was 3-0-1.
A three-time first-team all-state pick, Yates — who has volunteered as a teacher’s aide and for multiple service initiatives through her church — is ranked among the top 200 players nationally by Top Drawer Soccer. She ends her career with 144 goals and 68 assists.
Yates has a 3.75 weighted GPA and signed to play at Virginia Tech. She is the fifth straight winner from Mecklenburg County, following Providence Day’s Marissa Hart (2019), Charlotte Latin’s Mary Elliott McCabe (2018) and Hough’s Ashlynn Serepca (2017 and 2016)
“Ayden is the hardest-working player on game day, on the practice field and at home,” said David Crutchfield, head coach of Lake Norman Charter High. “She is willing to do what it takes to be the best. Her competitiveness is contagious as is her attitude.”
