Ashley, Hoggard girls soccer set for historic NCHSAA 4A East Regional playoff showdown
The Ashley and Hoggard girls soccer teams will meet one final time in 2024.
The two Wilmington schools earned fourth-round state playoff victories Thursday night and will play for a third time this season in next week's NCHSAA 4A East Regional final.
The scoring started quickly for the Screaming Eagles as Savannah Manset rifled a shot from just outside the 18-yard box into the back of the net in the seventh minute against Cardinal Gibbons. Ashley would score again in the 35th minute as Kieran Bradley received a ricochet and taped the ball into an empty net.
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Cardinal Gibbons finally found the back of the net in the 78th minute but couldn't turn in a miracle, falling 2-1 to the top-seeded Screaming Eagles.
"The girls just want this so badly, and they've talked about it for so long," Ashley coach Erik Graf said. "They know what they need to do, so it's great to have talented players who are really smart."
Ashley (22-0-2) will host No. 11 Hoggard in the NCHSAA 4A East Regional final on Tuesday. Wilmington girls soccer teams have never met in a regional final before.
Vikings survive in overtime
It took overtime, but Hoggard is returning to a regional final for the second time in two years.
The Vikings (20-3-2) scored first, as star Ellis Kelly found the back of the net in the first half. Visiting Heritage tied the game with just 15 minutes to play, forcing overtime.
It was sophomore Brielle Archer who scored the game-winning goal in the first period of overtime.
"Going through my head, I was just like, 'I have to get this one in," Archer said of her game-winning goal. "There was a sense of urgency because I missed (A goal), and I knew I had to finish what I had."
Hoggard is no stranger to deep playoff runs. Since 2010, the Vikings will play in their tenth regional final since 2010 next week.
"We've really worked our way up," Kelly said of Hoggard's evolution this season. "We started not as great in the beginning of the season and it's a great team so we're excited to see where we can go."
"I don't think we've peaked yet," Hoggard senior Avery Barr said of the Vikings mentality. "Next game, we need to show out and perform our best if we want to get to that state championship.
Hoggard started the season 6-3 but hasn't lost a game since March. The Vikings earned the No. 11 seed in the state playoffs and have outscored opponents 19-6 in this postseason.
"At the beginning of the year, I told (the team) that we were capable. I didn't know if they believed me or not, but they kept fighting through the whole year, and we've gotten back to where we want to be," Hoggard coach Justin Schatz said.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Ashley and Hoggard girls soccer win, play in NCHSAA regional final
