Hendersonville senior Eden Johnson (7) watches as a rebound shot flies into the Owen goal during Monday's 3-0 home win. Photo by Pete Zampras.
Hendersonville – Asheville lost a 4A match, 2-1, in double overtime, while 2A Hendersonville (HHS) also lost, 4-0, in a regional semifinal at home on a rainy Thursday.
In the previous round, West No. 2 seed Hendersonville (16-3-1, 11-0-1 MFC) defeated Owen (8-7-3) 3-0.
The Maxon era is over
No. 3 seed West Henderson (21-2, 12-0) lost to Lake Norman Charter (LNCS) in the third round. West beat the LNCS Knights 2-0 in the fourth round in 2023 to clinch its longest winning streak ever. The Lady Falcons won three rounds in 2022 with 20 wins, 4 losses and one tie to finish 23-4. In 2024, they were undefeated in the Mountain Seven and advanced to at least the third round of the playoffs for the third straight year.
“What a year it's been!” West head football coach Brian Brewer concluded during the post-game huddle.
This stellar three-year run was kicked off by the powerful 5-foot-8 striker Marianne Maxon. Having just graduated from West High School, Maxon racked up an impressive four-year varsity career with 186 goals, the most by a public high school female soccer player in WNC history. On May 19, Maxon, who will attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, was awarded the WNC Sports Award for the best female player from a major school in a major sport.
Maxson scored 49 goals in 24 years. She had support: senior Caroline Burton and junior Riley Druskis scored 20 goals each. Druskis will lead West in scoring in 2025 along with freshman varsity goalkeeper Ella Collier (O.57 GAA).
West beat North Lincoln, 8-0, and Central Cabarrus, 3-2, in its first two playoff games with Maxson scoring all three of the Falcon's goals.
In the final game, LNSC broke a scoreless tie 2 minutes 41 seconds into the second half. West tied it at 19:22 with a powerful shot from the left wing by Burton, but the Knights took the lead again just 39 seconds later. Burton nearly tied it again when he hit the crossbar with 2 minutes 42 seconds left. Another Falcon shot hit the crossbar of the football above the Knights' goal.
'Foo Fighters'
It was only fitting that senior striker Lily Foo scored Asheville's lone goal in a 2-1 loss in the playoff final game on May 23. She kicked the ball out of the goalkeeper's reach two minutes before halftime to tie the game at 1-1. Foo nearly scored the winning goal when she hit a penalty kick off the crossbar with four minutes left in the game.
Fifth-seeded Asheville (18-4-2, 11-1 MAC) enjoyed the one-two scoring punch of 2024 Foo (22 points) and sophomore Peyton Case (20) — that is, until Case left their second-round game on crutches after an injury. The “Foo Fighters,” as the Tribune nicknamed them after the famous rock band, were Foo's team as calm and practical as ever.
The eighth-seeded Mooresville Blue Devils (18-3-2) scored in the first two minutes and got the winning point on a free kick with two minutes left in the second overtime period when the rain-soaked ball slid out of the hands of AHS freshman keeper Ellie Wiegand-Revis (0.90 GAA) as MHS defeated top-seeded Watauga, 1-0, and then went on to beat AHS.
Asheville shut out Hopewell 9-0 before defeating Reagan 1-0 and Charlotte Catholic (CC) 2-1 in earlier rounds. Sadie Hambright and Ashley Armstrong scored the Cougars' goals against CC. Hambright (10 goals) scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Reagan in the second round.
Head football coach Mike Flow kept his vow to dye his hair hot pink if AHS wins three playoff games, as Asheville High School's senior teams have won or shared the Mountain Athletic Conference title in three of the past four seasons.
TCR, ACR
TC Roberson (14-6, 11-1), the other co-champion of the 2024 MAC regular season, was seeded 11th in 4A. TCR beat Grimsley 5-1 but lost 2-1 at Marvin Ridge. Lady Lamb Kate Pratt scored the most goals overall (24) among MAC players. Aria Giles (16), Shayne Pratt (15) and Sarah Freeman (10) also performed well for HC Leslie Lamb Sloan.
In 3A play, seventh-seeded AC Reynolds (18-7, 8-4) beat St. Stephen's 4-0 and East Lincoln 2-1 before losing to second-seeded North Davidson 2-1. Madeline Taylor scored ACR's goal. “We were the much better team. We just didn't take advantage of our chances,” Rocket head coach Patrick Gladis said. Basketball star Peyton Harvey filled in for injured goalkeeper Claire Rhoden in the playoffs.
Enka and North Buncombe were eliminated in the first round.
Lady Cats, Wallassie
The day before the seniors graduated, HHS lost to the sixth-seeded Wheatmore Warriors, 4-0, in a rain-soaked game on May 23. HHS beat Maiden, 7-0, and then beat Davidson Community School, 6-3, under coach Melissa Villiers Nitsche.
In a 3-0 win over Owen, senior Eden Johnson smashed in a rebound off a shot by sophomore Mia Nitsche. Freshmen Reagan Adams and Addison Reed also scored, and will help continue the tradition of HHS soccer. Maggie Bish led HHS with 19 goals. Bish and second-leading scorer Aubrey Letzbach, also a freshman, recently tore her ACL.
Coach Trey Morrison's Owen defeated McMichael 6-0 in the playoffs and then beat East Gaston 2-1. The Wallaces were well-received by senior goalkeeper Allison Little and leading scorers Abby Reitzel and freshman Lily Berry.
