Marvin Ridge ousts Charlotte Catholic, advances to NCHSAA 4A state championship game
There’s something about comeback stories with Marvin Ridge’s soccer teams.
The Mavericks, an unimpressive team just a month into the season, will play for the 4A boys’ soccer state championship Saturday after holding off Charlotte Catholic, 3-1, Tuesday night in the West Regional final.
Marvin Ridge, which won 3A state soccer titles in 2013 and 2016, will face East champion Wakefield in the finals at the Matthews SportsPlex.
The N.C. High School Athletic Association announced Wednesday morning that the 4A finals will be played at 11 a.m. Saturday.
The Mavericks’ boys’ team is following the same path as the Marvin Ridge girls’ squad did last spring — a slow start, then a surge that began in midseason and carried through the playoffs. The Maverick’s girls’ team won the 4A state title last spring, after not looking like a state championship contender for the first few weeks of the season.
“Now it’s our turn,” said Marvin Ridge head coach Jason Zak, who was at the helm when the Mavericks won those two state titles.
Marvin Ridge was 4-4-2 after a 1-0 loss Sept. 12 to Covenant Day. Since then, the Mavericks have gone 14-0.
“We’ve got good senior leadership, and it’s helped bring us all together,” said sophomore striker Collin McKee, who has been a big part of the playoff surge.
It was McKee who broke free on the right wing Saturday night and scored the second-overtime goal that lifted Marvin Ridge past previously unbeaten Myers Park 4-3.
And McKee got the decisive goal again Tuesday.
“Early in the season, when things went wrong, our heads would droop,” said Zak, who coached at Independence from 2000-05, before going to Marvin Ridge. “Our mentality is different now.”
Charlotte Catholic (19-5), which has made plenty of state championship appearances itself, dominated play in the opening 20 minutes Tuesday but came away with nothing to show for it.
About midway through the half, Marvin Ridge began to assert itself. The Mavericks were able to push the ball through midfield, which the Cougars had clogged in the early going. A shot by McKee bounced off the top post with 14:35 left in the half.
Seven minutes later, the Mavericks broke through. Cassias McKinnon’s corner kick was headed by Logan Ashburn into the left side of the net with 7:02 left in the half. Just 1:45 later, McKee found himself unguarded on the right side of the Charlotte Catholic net, and he made the Cougars pay with a low skidding shot into the goal.
And it stayed 2-0 until the closing minutes of the match.
“To be honest, I figured they might get a goal on us,” Zak said. “They moved their big guy (midfielder Quinlin Hahn) forward, and he kept the pressure on us.”
After a couple of close calls, Charlotte Catholic broke through. Braden Mathis’ shot from about 20 yards out flew past the Mavericks’ defense and into the net.
That made it 2-1 with 4:12 to play, and things got tighter.
“I remembered hearing that Catholic had scored twice in the last nine minutes the other night when they beat South Meck,” Marvin Ridge midfielder Carter Boreman said.
But there would be no comeback this time. The Cougars never got another real chance at a goal, and in the closing seconds, the Mavericks launched a counter that ended with Liam Galvin goal just 6.4 seconds before the final horn.
Other area teams fall: The Charlotte area’s two other regional finalists fell short Tuesday night, with Bradford Prep losing 2-1 to Mount Airy in the 1A West finals, and Lincolnton dropping a 3-0 decision to Southwestern Randolph in 2A.
Bradford Prep finished with a 20-4 record. It was the best season in school history, and it came under the direction of first-year head coach Christian Thomas.
Boys’ soccer scores
CLASS 4A
Tuesday’s regional championships
West
Marvin Ridge 3, Charlotte Catholic 1
East
Wakefield 1, Green Hope 1 (Wakefield won 4-3 on PKs)
Saturday’s state final at Matthews SportsPlex
Marvin Ridge (18-4-2) vs. Wakefield (22-4), 11 a.m.
CLASS 3A
Tuesday’s regional championships
West
Asheboro 4, AC Reynolds 2
East
Western Alamance 3, Southern Durham 1
Saturday’s state final at Matthews SportsPlex
Asheboro (27-2) vs. Western Alamance (24-1), 6 p.m.
CLASS 2A
Tuesday’s regional championships
West
Southwestern Randolph 3, Lincolnton 0
East
Clinton 2, Greene Central 0
Friday’s state final at Matthews SportsPlex
Southwestern Randolph (25-2) vs. Clinton (27-2), 7 p.m.
CLASS 1A
Tuesday’s regional championships
West
Mount Airy 2, Bradford Prep 1
East
Hobbton 3, Voyager Academy 2
Saturday’s state final at Matthews SportsPlex
Mount Airy (23-3) vs. Hobbton (23-5-1), 2:30 p.m.
This story was originally published November 19, 2024 at 10:22 PM.