Girls Soccer

Ardrey Kell takes down Ashley to win 4A girls soccer state title

The Ardrey Kell Knights and Ashley Screaming Eagles met in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A girls soccer championship on June 2, 2023.
Posted 2023-06-03T01:14:09+00:00 - Updated 2023-06-03T05:37:04+00:00

Mission completed.

Ardrey Kell had a single-minded goal to earn its way back to the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A girls soccer championship and come away with a title in hand.

The Knights did just that on Friday night, taking home a 3-2 win over Ashley at UNC-Greensboro on Friday night.

It is the first girls soccer championship for Ardrey Kell (25-3-1), which had been runner-up on four other occasions, including last year's heartbreaker in PKs to Cardinal Gibbons. There were times during the game where the Knights could've allowed some frustrations to bring back bad memories.

Instead, they kept pushing through.

"By the time we got to this game today, it's just about sheer culture, togetherness and drive to play every play like it's going to matter in the result," coach Kim Montgomery said. "They were relentless in knowing they were not going to give anything up, that they were not going to lose this game."

Two second-half goals from Ally Casey were the difference for the Knights, which earned the junior MVP honors. She entered the match with seven goals on the year.

The first one came in the 49th minute to give Ardrey Kell a brief lead. Casey eluded a defender from the top right corner of the box and beat the keeper to the near post.

Three minutes later, however, Ashley leveled it at 2-2.

A handball in the box was whistled on Ardrey Kell, and the Screaming Eagles' Savannah Manset went low and to the left on her PK to tie the game in the 52nd minute.

However, it was Casey and the Knights who had the final response.

Four minutes after Manset's tying PK, Casey one-timed a ball from Taylor Suarez inside the 8-yard-box to put the Knights up for good. It was the end to a wild three-goals-in-seven-minutes back-and-forth.

"I just worked as hard as I could," Casey said. "I wanted it for myself, I wanted it for my team. It was just something I had to get done."

Ashley's center backs, Maggie Roepke and Ellie Zimmerman, had their hands full in the match but stood tall for much of the game, as did goalkeeper Morgan Tucker. Tucker made four saves in the game's opening 25 minutes to keep the Screaming Eagles in it.

The score was 1-1 at halftime as both teams' star scorers netted highlight-reel-worthy goals. In the 22nd minute, Suarez -- a Florida State recruit -- dribbled around defenders and to the top of the box, where she curled one into the near post.

Suarez won the N.C. Gatorade Player of the Year award last season as a sophomore. Friday was her final high school game as she plans to graduate next fall.

With one goal and one assist in her last high school game -- giving her 35 goals and 32 assists this season -- she went out on top.

"That feeling as the clock ran out is unbelievable, it's what everyone wants to experience," Suarez said. "It's the best way to go out. ... We're all a family and it just makes it 10 times better."

Just before half, in the 36th minute, Ashley responded as Karina Peat likewise dribbled around defenders. She sent a rocket from 30 yards out that hit the goalkeeper's mitts on its way into the net. It was her 38th goal of the season.

Ashley was the top seed from the East, while Ardrey Kell was the No. 6 overall seed in the West.

Prior to the championship game, each team honored its sportsmanship award winner. For Ashley, it was Maryn Harris while for Ardrey Kell it was Kristin Sullivan.

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