On a rainy night at Dail Soccer Field in Raleigh, the Chapel Hill women’s soccer team defeated Cox Mill High School 1-0 to capture its second North Carolina 3A state championship.
The Tigers dominated the regular season, allowing only one goal in 15 regular season games and posting an overall record of 13-1-1, while also winning the Big Eight 3A conference.
Chapel Hill entered the state tournament as the number two seed in the East region. The Tigers opened up the playoffs with a commanding 9-0 win over Franklinton and then proceeded to knock off Swansboro, Northern Durham and D.H. Conley by a combined score of 4-0, propelling them to the final four.
In the state semifinals, the Tigers hosted Jacksonville, who had knocked them out of the tournament a year earlier. Jacksonville struck early in the second half to take a 1-0 advantage. Then, with only five minutes left in regulation, Chapel Hill evened the score when an errant Jacksonville header trickled into the back of the net, keeping the Tigers’ season alive.
Chapel Hill sophomore Avery Look wasted no time in overtime. Less than a minute into the first extra period, Look weaved past the Jacksonville defense and scored the eventual winning goal, sending the Tigers to the state championship.
Chapel Hill clashed with Cox Mill High School (Concord, NC), who came into the final with a 19-2-2 record and a perfect 10-0 conference mark. Cox Mill was defeated by Weddington in the semifinals last year.
The original 8 p.m. start time on Saturday, May 26, was pushed back after a rain delay in an earlier game. But the elements did not stop Chapel Hill students from coming out in large numbers to support the Tigers.
Roughly 15 minutes into the first half, Chapel Hill junior Isabel Leinenweber lofted a corner kick into the box, which sophomore Maddie Reiter headed into the net to give the Tigers the lead.
“I remember getting in the box and thinking: why not score this time?” Reiter said. “When the ball came, I just jumped up and hoped it got into the goal.
The game was 1-0 at halftime.
Less than ten minutes into the second half, lightning near the stadium prompted a delay, forcing fans to evacuate the stadium.
Chapel Hill Head Coach Jason Curtis explained how the girls were able to stay focused during the stoppage. “Two words: state championship,” Curtis said. “You got 32 minutes and 21 seconds. Keep that zero, and we are champs.”
With just over 30 minutes left, Cox Mill dominated the possession as the Tigers played defensively but refused to break.
“I’ve never felt like this,” Curtis said after the game. “This is unreal. Those girls are so tough. They play so hard; they play for each other; they’re just so much fun.”
Chapel Hill has now won the state championship with both the men’s and women’s team in the same year. Both teams were led by Curtis and assistant coaches Davis Boyle, Kevin Schoden and former head coach Ron Benson.
“I was so excited,” Reiter said. “It didn’t even seem real at first. I had dreamed of winning a championship, and it felt amazing to actually win one.”
Maddie Reiter, who scored the lone goal of the game, was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the game.
With the 1-0 win, the Tigers recorded their 19th shutout of the season and tied a state record with only two goals allowed throughout the season.
