Christ The King completes sweep of NC 1A soccer titles Saturday

Christ the King’s defense shut down Woods Charter’s main scoring threat Saturday and blanked the Wolves 3-0, winning the 1A girls’ state soccer championship.

The victory made Christ the King the undisputed champion of 1A soccer in North Carolina, as the school’s boys’ team won the 1A championship last November.

The two soccer titles are the first team championships for the school, which opened in 2011.

And it was the second girls’ soccer state title won Saturday by a Huntersville high school, as Lake Norman Charter earlier captured the 3A crown.

The Crusaders (18-2) were playing under a first-year head coach, Bob Dubiel.

Christ the King dominated the match and prevented Woods Charter’s 50-goal scorer, Leyla Noronha, from getting any serious scoring opportunities.

Despite its unbeaten (19-0-2) record entering the match, Chapel Hill-based Woods Charter found itself on the defensive for most of the first half against Christ the King.

The Crusaders got their first good opportunity in the 12th minute, when Elle Gorman broke away from the Woods Charter defense. She swooped in on goal but lost control of the ball shortly before taking a shot.

Less than a minute later, Gorman found herself with the ball about 10 yards in front of the goal. Her left-footed shot was stopped by Woods Charter goalkeeper Jana Matthews, who made a sprawling save.

The Crusaders launched another threat in the 29th minute, when Daniela Evans dribbled around a defender but narrowly missed connecting with Katie Reyes in front of the goal.

Christ the King’s pressure finally paid off with 8:28 left in the half, when a Woods Charter defender was called for a foul in the box. That resulted in a penalty kick, and junior midfielder Riley Milligan connected, placing her shot into the upper-right corner of the goal.

It was the first goal that Woods Charter had allowed in the playoffs.

The Crusaders dominated possession in the half, with defender Abby Olean and others shutting Noronha.

It was much the same story in the second half, with the Crusader defense largely preventing Noronha from getting the ball in open space. She was able to break free near the midway point of the half, but Christ the King’s back line broke up the play.

And by then, the Crusaders were ahead 2-0.

They scored the second goal with 25:58 left in the match, when Gorman delivered a perfect centering pass to Evans, who headed it into the goal. Woods Charter’s Matthews got a hand on the ball, but it skidded over her head and into the net.

Moments before that, Evans had missed narrowly on a shot from about 10 yards away.

Christ the King, playing with only four seniors on the roster, made it 3-0 with 12:59 remaining, when Olean kicked the ball into the net during a scrum in front of the Woods Charter goal.

This story was originally published June 4, 2022 at 4:31 PM.