Asheville High girls soccer suffers emotional double OT loss to Mooresville in 4th round
The driving rain could hardly hide the tears on the faces of Asheville High's players.
The emotions were evident as they walked off the field following a 2-1 double-overtime loss to Mooresville in the fourth round of the NCHSAA 4A girls soccer playoffs. The sting of defeat was raw, with some players burying their faces in their shirts and others hugging each other as they huddled one more time.
The No. 5 Cougars (18-4-2) were minutes away from going to penalty kicks when No. 8 Mooresville (18-3-2) scored off a free kick in the 98th minute, the wet ball slipping through the hands of Asheville’s goalkeeper.
“I thought Mooresville played much better after we tied it up,” Asheville coach Mike Flowe said. “It was tight. I thought maybe we were going to PKs, then the rain made that ball slip.”
Mooresville took the lead in the second minute of the game, finding the back of the net with a loose ball. Asheville spent the rest of the half chasing until the 38th minute, when senior striker Lily Foo scored from 15 yards out, shooting the ball just over the keeper’s hands for the equalizer.
The game remained tied into the 76th minute. Asheville earned a penalty kick, but Foo’s shot hit the crossbar before Mooresville goalie Briton Warham controlled the loose ball.
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The Cougars were missing sophomore striker Peyton Case, the team’s second-leading goal scorer with 20 this season. Case suffered an injury in Asheville’s second-round win over Reagan on May 16.
The loss ends one of Asheville High's best seasons in the past two decades, falling short of its first trip to a state championship game since 2000.
It also wraps up the careers of seniors like Foo, Lila Allen, Evie Bick and Jesse Smith, who helped the Cougars win three conference titles.
“I’ve loved all four years of it,” Smith said. “The team has been like my family all four years. Flowe has been with me for all four years. It’s been a long ride.”
Afterward, Flowe told his players that they’ve earned the right to hold their heads high.
“I’m proud of them,” he said. “To play this tough tonight, this whole week, I’m real proud of them.”
Evan Gerike is the high school sports reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email him at egerike@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanGerike. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville High girls soccer falls in NCHSAA playoffs in double OT
