Grace Webb, Weddington roll Marvin Ridge, advance to NCHSAA girls’ lacrosse final
Separated by only seven miles, it’s natural for Marvin Ridge and Weddington high schools to be rivals in athletics.
On Wednesday night, they two schools played the most impactful event in their young histories — and the underdog came out on top.
Visiting Weddington won 12-5 at top-seeded Marvin Ridge in the Western N.C. 4A regional girls lacrosse championship game.
“We came out with energy and worked together as a team,” said sophomore Grace Brown, who scored six goals to lead the Warriors. “We worked really hard in practice the last couple of days.
“I think we wanted revenge too.”
Weddington (19-7) advances to its second state title game — and first since 2021 — when it meets Eastern N.C. champion Cardinal Gibbons on Saturday at Durham County Stadium. Cardinal Gibbons defeated East Chapel Hill 21-10 on Wednesday.
“They were ready for the game and got redemption,” said first-year Warriors head coach Zac Winder. “And they played their hearts out.”
Marvin Ridge halted Weddington’s conference title streak at eight years and swept the regular season series this spring by 10-6 and 9-8 margins, ending he Warriors’ five-game winning streak in a series that began in 2008.
Weddington and Webb took charge from the outset and never trailed in knocking off the host Mavericks (20-4).
Webb scored twice in the first quarter as the Warriors took a 3-1 lead, twice more in the second quarter for an 8-2 halftime advantage. She then tallied one goal in the third and fourth quarters as the Mavericks would get no closer than six in the second half.
Webb now has 104 goals this season.
“My team definitely supports me and helps make that possible,” Webb said.
Three who made a difference
Grace Webb, Weddington: Scored six goals, including at least one in each quarter, to lead the Warriors.
Abbey Testa, Weddington: Scored four goals for the Warriors.
Bea Serfontein, Marvin Ridge: Scored three goals for the Mavericks to finish the season with 61 goals.
Notable
▪ Marvin Ridge still holds a 17-16 all-time series advantage over Weddington in a series that has seen long winning streaks by both teams; Marvin Ridge won eight straight from 2011 to 2015 and Weddington won seven straight from 2017 to 2022.
▪ Wednesday’s contest was the second postseason matchup between the two schools; Marvin Ridge won 22-2 in a first-round game in the inaugural state playoffs of 2009.
▪ Weddington has four players who have committed to play lacrosse in college - seniors Ava Jordan (Gardner-Webb) and goalie Ashlea Nieland (Catawba) and juniors Regan Giddins (Oregon) and Ella Turner (Iona).
They said it
“We’ve got a bunch of talented girls and I told them when we started practice that this season was going to be a journey. We had the toughest schedule ever and played against some of the toughest teams. That prepared us for today.” - Weddington coach Zac Winder.
LINESCORE
Weddington 3 5 2 2 - 12
Marvin Ridge 1 1 1 2 - 5
Scoring: Weddington- Goals: Grace Webb 6, Abbey Testa 4, Logan Hailey 1, Ella Turner 1. MR: Bea Serfontein 3, Ava Heyde 1, Ella Braun 1.
Lake Norman Charter falls in regional final
Bishop McGuinness beat Lake Norman Charter 14-10 in Wednesday’s 1A/2A/3A Western Regional championship game.
Bishop McGuinness (20-3) led 9-5 at halftime and won for the 13th time in 14 games. The Villians will play in this week’s state final against Union Pines.
Union Pines returned to the state final for the second straight year after beating Greenville’s JH Rose 14-11 in the Eastern Regional final.
This story was originally published May 28, 2025 at 10:24 PM.
