Charlotte Catholic soccer chasing rare unbeaten NCHSAA state title

Gary Hoilett has seen his share of talented high school boys’ and girls’ soccer teams in his coaching career.

Like most coaches — particularly ones with more than 800 coaching victories and six state championships — he has a hard time comparing teams.

But even he has to admit that his 2025 Charlotte Catholic girls’ team keeps moving closer to a position to claim top honors. When asked to rate this year’s team — it will host Weddington at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Western N.C. 4A semifinals — Hoilett paused and offered this:

“That’s a tough one. If we’re going to just talk record, I would say, ‘Yes, (number) one.’ But I’ve had some really good teams around here with some girls that can really play.”

This year’s team is pursuing the school’s fourth state title and is seeking a rare unbeaten championship run entering the Western N.C. 4A semifinals with a 21-0-1 overall record highlighted by a current 20-game winning streak.

Even more impressive is the team’s youthful makeup, as Hoilett started three seniors, two juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen in Monday’s 2-1 N.C. 4A quarterfinal playoff win over defending 4A state champion Marvin Ridge.

“This team is really young,” said Hoilett, a member of the 2023 induction class of the N.C. Soccer Hall of Fame. “But they always come out and compete.”

The Cougars have previously won NCHSAA 1A/2A state titles in 2002 and 2003 and one 3A title in 2011, so this team is pursuing the school’s first 4A title — the hardest one to win — in addition to the glory of becoming the school’s second unbeaten champion.

The 2003 team finished 21-0-3.

Catholic would become the eighth 4A state champion in the past 16 seasons to go unbeaten if it can win three more games. The last unbeaten team was Myers Park in 2021, when the Mustangs finished 18-0-1.

Four Raleigh-area teams finished unbeaten and Hough did it twice (26-0-1 in 2012 and 25-0-2 in 2014).

Catholic senior Jordyn Miller leads this year’s team with 19 goals and four assists. Sophomore Savanna Leckner (18 goals, 9 assists), junior Mary Martin Spinner (12 goals, 14 assists), sophomore Anne Gonyea (12 goals, 2 assists) and freshman Tess Truxillo (10 goals, 10 assists) are other top scorers for a team that has outscored its 22 opponents by a 108-8 margin.

And sophomore keeper Fallon Leckner has 14 shutouts this season.

“Obviously it can be tough when you have that on your back,” Miller said of the pressure that comes with being unbeaten. “But we’re trusting in ourselves and what we can do. We do have a really young team but we’ve trusted in our captains: Myself, (senior Morgan Child), Spinner and (senior) Brooke Gaertig. We’re all upperclassmen and we all try to help the younger players.”

Hoilett’s team has only one blemish, a scoreless tie with South Mecklenburg on Feb. 27.

“A key has been the veteran leadership and letting the girls understand that it can be tough and we have to weather the storm here or there,” Hoilett said. “So we stick to our principles and how we are asked to play. It’s worked out so far.”