Thursday’s high school soccer rewind: Charlotte Catholic among 4 area teams to 4A quarters
The Charlotte Catholic Cougars boys soccer team advanced to the fourth round of the NCHSAA 4A state tournament Thursday night, defeating the Hough Huskies, 4-2, in an overtime thriller.
“I thought we came out and had a great start, but we were playing a great opponent,” said Charlotte Catholic head coach Gary Hoilett following the win. “We thought we were cruising along, but they came back to equalize and put some pressure on us, but I’ve got confidence in this team. We found our game again and were finally able to put them away.”
Catholic jumped out to a 2-0 lead, getting scores from Sean Lynds and Emmet Drensek in the first half.
But in the second, Hough got going offensively, getting a score just five minutes into the half from junior midfielder Brodie Dubiel.
With momentum swung in its direction, Hough continued to press the attack and drew even at the 24-minute mark on a 20-yard strike from junior midfielder Piercon Selland.
Neither team could score again so the game went to overtime, where Catholic regained momentum.
Drensek had a shot that deflected off a Hough defender and went in, and later Keane LoCascio scored the put-away goal to send Catholic to Saturday’s state quarterfinal round.
“It means a lot,” LoCascio said. “We knew that this year we had to give it everything we got, so just to get the game-sealing goal it meant a lot.”
THREE WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
Emmett Drensek, Charlotte Catholic: Drensek was arguably the player of the game for the Cougars, scoring one goal and causing the own goal from Hough that put his team ahead in extra time.
Keane LoCascio, Charlotte Catholic: The Cougars’ senior captain sunk the game-sealing goal in OT.
Piercon Selland, Hough: Selland was huge for Hough despite the loss, scoring the equalizing goal and nearly putting his team ahead on two other occasions.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The Cougars will host South Mecklenburg on Saturday in the fourth round. Hough’s season is complete.
SCORING SUMMARY
Charlotte Catholic – 2 0 2 – 4
Hough – 0 2 0 - 2
First Half
(CC) - 12 goal at 33:29
(CC) - 11 goal at 6:11
Second Half
(H) - 8 goal at 35:18
(H) - 18 goal at 24:47
Over Time
(CC) - Hough own goal off a deflection
(CC) – Keane LoCascio goal at :55
Thursday’s Roundup
Myers Park 2, Garinger 0: The second-seeded Mustangs (19-0-2) remained unbeaten and ended a remarkable season for the Wildcats (20-5-1), who were Southwestern 4A champions.
Myers Park scored in the seventh minute, on Gavin Trosch’s headed off a pass from Henry Boner. Garinger nearly tied the match shortly before halftime, but Mustang goalkeeper Tyler Sinn made a big save off a corner kick.
The Mustangs made it 2-0 with about 10 minutes left, when Beni Sibu scored off a direct kick by Henry Ewatt. It was Sibu’s 30th goal of the season.
South Mecklenburg 3, Ragsdale 1: The Sabres, a No. 21 seed, won their third straight road game to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals. Last season, the Sabres finished third in conference play, just like this season, and won six straight road games en route to the N.C. 4A state title.
Thursday, the Sabres built a 2-1 lead at halftime and then pulled away.
South Mecklenburg (17-6-4) scored five minutes into the match and added a goal about 15 minutes later for a 2-0 lead. Ragsdale (22-5), the No. 13 seed, cut the margin to 2-1 shortly before the half. But the Sabres got a goal from Grant Beverly on a rebound in the second half, opening a more comfortable margin.
Marvin Ridge 2, Grimsley 0: After a 2-2-2 start to the season, the Mavericks have gotten rolling. Thursday was Marvin Ridge’s 12th straight win. The game, scheduled for Marvin Ridge, was moved to Ardrey Kell’s turf field because of weather. This is Marvin Ridge’s deepest playoff run since 2018, when the Mavericks were a 3A school and lost 1-0 to Chapel Hill in the state championship.
CLASS 3A
East Lincoln 5, Hibriten 0: The fifth-seeded Mustangs (22-2-2) went on the road and trounced the fourth-seeded Panthers (17-7-2), behind goals by goalkeeper Luke Bissinger, Brodan Barnes, Carter King, Brody Felts and Evan Blackley. Bissinger scored on a penalty kick, and he made five saves for the shutout. East Lincoln travels Saturday to No. 1 seed Asheboro.
South Point 4, Hickory 3 (OT): The third-seeded Raiders (21-2-3) advanced to a quarterfinal match at second seed A.C. Reynolds, by winning this double-overtime thriller. After a 2-2 regulation tie, each team scored a goal in the first extra session. South Point won it with a second-overtime goal. The match was played on Stuart Cramer High’s turf field, due to the wet weather.
CLASS 2A
Lincolnton 1, Pine Lake Prep 0: The 14th-seeded Wolves (19-5-1) upset sixth seed Pine Lake Prep (15-4-4) on the road. Lincolnton will face the winner of Friday’s Patton-Forbush match on Saturday.
CLASS 1A
Bradford Prep 2, Elkin 1: The second-seeded Bears (19-3) added another chapter to the most successful boys’ soccer season in school history. Bradford Prep will host the Bishop McGuinness-Polk County winner in the quarterfinals Saturday.
Highland Tech 5, Union Academy 1: The top-seeded Rams (19-1) kept on rolling, ousting eighth-seeded Union Academy (15-7-1). Highland Tech will be home Saturday against the Mount Airy-Piedmont Community Charter match. Should Piedmont Community Charter win, it would be an all-Gastonia state quarterfinal.
NCHSAA scores, schedule
Thursday’s third round
West
Charlotte Catholic 4, Hough 2 OT
Marvin Ridge 2, Grimsley 0
Myers Park 2, Garinger 0
South Mecklenburg 3, Ragsdale 1
East
Broughton 3, Cardinal Gibbons 2
Holly Springs 2, Chapel Hill 1
Wakefield 4, Riverside 2
Friday’s third round
East
New Hanover (16-8-1) at Green Hope (21-4), 6 p.m.
Saturday’s fourth round
West
Marvin Ridge (16-4-2) at Myers Park (19-0-2)
South Mecklenburg (17-6-4) at Charlotte Catholic (19-4)
East
Broughton (20-5-2) at Wakefield (21-4)
Green Hope/New Hanover at Holly Springs (22-1-1)
CLASS 3A
Thursday’s third round
West
AC Reynolds 2, Enka 1
Asheboro 4, Pisgah 0
East Lincoln 5, Hibriten 0
South Point 4, Hickory 3
East
First Flight 2, Jacksonville 1
Southern Durham 4, C.B. Aycock 0
Southern Nash 5, JH Rose 4
Western Alamance 7, Dixon 0
Saturday’s fourth round
West
East Lincoln (22-2-2) at Asheboro (25-2)
South Point (21-2-3) vs. AC Reynolds (20-1-1)
East
Southern Durham (20-2-2) at First Flight (21-0)
Southern Nash (19-2-3) at Western Alamance (22-1)
CLASS 2A
Thursday’s third round
West
Lincolnton 1, Pine Lake Prep 0
Newton-Conover 1, West Caldwell 0
Southwestern Randolph 3, Bandys 2
Friday’s third round
Patton (18-4-3) at Forbush (21-3-2), 6 p.m.
East
Greene Central 2, Washington 0
Southeast Alamance 2, Wallace-Rose Hill 1
Friday’s third round
East
Roanoke Rapids (11-10) at Clinton (24-2), 5 p.m.
Seaforth (9-10-3) at Kenan (16-4-1), 4 p.m.
Saturday’s fourth round
West
Lincolnton (19-5-1) vs. Forbush/Patton
Newton-Conover (20-5-2) at Southwestern Randolph (23-2)
East
Southeast Alamance (18-6) at Greene Central (20-5)
CLASS 1A
Thursday’s third round
West
Bradford Prep 2, Elkin 1
Highland Tech 5, Union Academy 1
East
Hobbton 10, Vance Charter 1
Pender County 4, East Wake 1
Friday’s third round
West
Bishop McGuinness (15-4-4) at Polk County (15-4-3), 6 p.m.
Mount Airy (20-3) at Piedmont Community Charter (14-4-1), 6 p.m.
East
Eno River Academy (13-6-1) at Wake Prep (9-14-1), 6 p.m.
Voyager Academy (16-2-2) at Excelsior Classical (15-1-1), 6 p.m.
Saturday’s fourth round
West
Mount Airy/Piedmont at Highland Tech (19-1)
Bishop McGuinness/Polk County at Bradford Prep (19-3)
East
Pender County (21-5-1) at Hobbton (21-5-1)
PHOTOS: Hough at Charlotte Catholic
This story was originally published November 14, 2024 at 10:35 PM.
