Hough falls short in 4A soccer final. Christ the King, Shelby win 1A, 2A crowns
Hough coach David Smith sensed his Huskies were a little timid at the outset of Saturday’s N.C. 4A men’s soccer state final against New Hanover at Koka Booth Stadium. Timidity rarely bodes well against an aggressor like New Hanover, which felled Hough 3-0 in the Huskies’ second state final.
Hough goalkeeper Eric Kniple corralled eight of his 10 saves in the first half to limit the Wildcats’ attack to just two pre-intermission goals. Adian Payne, who assisted on Charlie Letson’s eighth minute goal, tallied his own conversion 14:29 before the break.
Payne, named Championship MVP, scored his 54th goal of the season (assisted by Andy McCague) to cement the final count in the 60th minute.
“I loved that we moved up from 3A to 4A,” Payne said. “It feels even better. I think this is where we belong. I think we showed that this year beating all these teams, and beating a good Hough team tonight.”
Hough (22-4-1) attempted nine of its 12 shots in the second half. The Huskies’ first half chances were solid, including Jedd Wagner’s 18th-minute offering. Wagner approached the goal from outside the right post and put the ball on the frame. His attempt was punch saved by Wildcats goalkeeper Jhonny DePaz.
Approximately four minutes before halftime, Hough’s Eugenio de la Parra made a breakaway run to the goal and appeared to have his jersey grabbed by the last defender just above the box. The game continued without an infraction assessed on the play.
“We saw it differently, obviously, a handful of jersey. Everybody else saw it,” Smith said. “Those are the things that you’ve got to play through. We’ve been playing through those kinds of things all season.
“New Hanover just made more plays than we did tonight. That’s the bottom line.”
The Huskies appeared to break through on a set piece with 32:21 remaining. Diego Cominges won possession of the freely kicked ball before it trickled across the goal line. Hough was deemed to have run into an airborne DePaz (who departed briefly for injury attention).
The Huskies were outshot 24 to 12.
New Hanover (27-0-1), last spring’s 3A state runner-up (to Weddington), secured its first ever state title in the sport. The Wildcats lost to Myers Park in the 2008 final.
Christ The King wins 1A title
This time, there was no letting up.
Christ the King kept pressure on Voyager Academy for a full 80 minutes Saturday and won the 1A boys’ state soccer championship by a 3-0 score.
It was the first N.C. High School Athletic Association team championship in history for Christ the King, a Huntersville school which opened 10 years ago.
Later Saturday, Shelby and Greene Central went to penalty kicks to settle the 2A championship, with Shelby prevailing.
On Friday night, Hickory fell in the 3A finals, dropping a 1-0 decision to Western Alamance.
Saturday’s victory for Christ the King marked the school’s second appearance in the boys’ state finals.
Two years ago, the Crusaders jumped to a 2-0 lead over Franklin Academy but lost momentum and fell 3-2.
That didn’t happen Saturday at the WakeMed Soccer Complex in Cary.
Christ the King (22-1) kept pressure on the Vikings (17-2-3) for most of the match, allowing the Eastern Regional champs only a few scoring opportunities.
Voyager Academy’s Emory Crichlow and Ryan Dillon each had shots that banged off the Christ the King goal around the 20th minute of the first half. But Christ the King took control from there.
In the 23rd minute, the ball was deflected into the air in front of the Voyager Academy goal and landed near the foot of Marcos Frias. He moved the ball from his left foot to his right, and smacked a shot into the Voyagers’ goal.
Christ the King made it 2-0 in the 65th minute of the match, when Olivier Harrison’s corner kick found the foot of Dillon Kocher, whose shot rocketed into the goal.
Voyager Academy’s chances of coming back essentially ended about two minutes later, when Charley Wright picked up his second yellow card. The Vikings had to play a man down for the closing 14 minutes.
Christ the King capitalized on its advantage, as Frias scored on a free kick in the 73rd minute.
Drew Hansen, who was among eight Christ the King players in uniform Saturday who were on that 2019 team, led the Crusaders with three shots on goal. Frias and Kocher each added two.
The victory capped a four-year effort by Crusaders’ coach Mark DiPietro to build the school into a soccer power.
The Crusaders were 7-7 in DiPietro’s first season, 2018, as the school moved from the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association to the NCHSAA. They improved to 19-6-1 and a state finals appearance in 2019, then went 10-1-2 last winter.
Shelby wins in 2A
Shelby and Greene Central played scoreless soccer through 80 minutes of regulation, a pair of 10-minute overtimes, and two more five-minute sudden-death overtime periods.
That sent the 2A finals to penalty kicks, and Shelby (23-1-2) downed Greene Central (25-2) 5-3.
The Golden Lions’ most valuable player was goalkeeper Eli Wilbanks, who made nine saves in the early-afternoon match.
Greene Central put the pressure on Shelby from the start, outshooting the Golden Lions 13-4 in the first half. But Wilbanks was there, making save after save. Greene Central midfielder Ariel Nunez had nine shots, two of them on goal; and midfielders Ezequiel Roman and Nathan Drake each added five shots.
Shelby appeared to have a tough time breaking through the Rams’ midfield defense but managed to get seven shots on goal – two apiece by Greg Arce and Carter Bridges.
It was a feisty match, with each team getting three yellow cards.
In the shootout, Bridges gave Shelby a quick 1-0 lead by making his first attempt. Wilbanks then stopped the opening Greene Central attempt, by Enrique Lopez-Lemus.
Each team scored on its next three attempts, but Shelby clinched the victory when Cade Ledbetter scored on the Golden Lions’ fifth and final attempt.
It was Shelby’s third state championship in boys’ soccer.
Hickory falls in 3A finals Friday
Hickory High School fell 1-0 to Western Alamance Friday night in the N.C. high school 3A state soccer championship.
On Saturday, three more Charlotte-area teams will try to win titles.
In 4A, Hough (22-3-1) will play Wilmington New Hanover (22-0-1). In 2A, Shelby (22-1-2) will play Greene Central (25-1) and in 1A, Christ The King (20-1) will play Voyager Academy (17-1-3).
All three matches will be at Raleigh’s WakeMed Soccer Park, beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Friday night, Western Alamance beat Hickory, when Ian Bacchus scored from the penalty spot with about four minutes left in regulation.
It was Bacchus’ 22nd goal of the season and he won championship MVP.
Hickory ended its season 22-4-1. The Red Tornadoes were 11-2-1 as the champions of the Western Foothills 3A conference and won its fifth NCHSAA Regional Championship. The Red Tornadoes were in the final for the first time since 2012.
Soccer state finals update
State championships
(at WakeMed Soccer Complex, Cary)
Class 4A
Saturday’s finals
New Hanover 3, Hough 0
Class 3A
Friday’s finals
Western Alamance 1, Hickory 0
Class 2A
Saturday’s finals
Shelby 0 Greene Central 0 (Shelby wins on penalty kicks, 5-3)
Class 1A
Saturday’s finals
Christ the King 3, Voyager Academy 0
This story was originally published November 20, 2021 at 12:11 AM.
