One more to go
Warhorses advance to state championship with 5-4 double overtime victory over Lincoln Charter
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 16, 2022
Minutes into the first period, locked in a 4-4 tie against Lincoln Charter on Nov. 15, Owen head soccer coach Trei Morrison knew his team would come out on top.
“There was no question in my mind we were going to win this game,” he said, surrounded by an emotional Warhorse team celebrating the program’s first victory in the NCHSAA 2A West Regional Championship. “I had a feeling it would go to sudden death, but I knew we were going to win. I could see it in the guys’ eyes.”
The mental toughness he observed in the faces of his players on their way to a thrilling 5-4 victory over the Eagles in front of an exuberant home crowd will be vital this weekend in McPherson Stadium, near Greensboro, where Owen will compete for a state championship against the Clinton Dark Horses at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 18.
The No. 10 seed Warhorses, who improved to 21-2-1 on the season with the victory, were winners of 15 straight heading into the Regional Championship match against No. 17 Lincoln Charter, which entered the contest 13-9-3. Both teams came into the night having left a trail of higher-seeded opponents in their wake.
“Playoffs bring out the best in everybody, and I said before the game that this didn’t feel like a matchup between a 10th seed and 17th seed,” Morrison said. “I think the other side of the bracket will look at this game as a 10 vs. 17, but that doesn’t paint an accurate picture of this match.”
Lincoln Charter upset 1st, 5th and 9th seeds to advance to the regional match against Owen, which had dispatched No. 7 Robinson and No. 6 North Forsyth on its way to securing a home game in the semifinal round.
Warhorse fans had barely settled into their seats when junior forward Daniel Garcia found sophomore striker Davis Kendall in front of the net in the sixth minute to take an early lead. In what would become a theme in the contest, the Eagles battled back to tie the score, 1-1, later in the first half.
Kendall, who finished the night with 4 goals, put Owen ahead in the 26th minute off a rebound in front of the net, but Lincoln Charter regrouped to force a 2-2 tie before the halftime break. The back-and-forth battle continued in the second half, as Kendall battled through the Eagles defense to set up a successful penalty kick in the 68th minute for a 3-2 advantage.
Undeterred, Lincoln Charter stormed back to once again knot it up, 3-3, before Owen senior Cole Roy connected on a header off a pass from junior midfielder Elijah Caro less than a minute later. The home team held that advantage for a little more than two minutes, as the resilient Eagles found space behind the Warhorse defense in the waning moments of regulation to draw even, 4-4.
While neither team found the net in the first 20 minutes of extra time, Owen Lollis seized an opportunity to close it out off a long pass from Roy. Forcing the opposing goalkeeper to step out of the net, the sophomore midfielder drew a penalty kick in the final seconds of the opening sudden death period, resulting in a yellow card for the Lincoln Charter goalkeeper. Kendall, who scored 3 or more goals in a contest for the ninth time this season, drilled the game winner.
“Coach says play with intensity from start to finish, and that’s what we do,” Kendall said after the win. “We stay in it the entire time, and when the other team scores, we’re a little sad, but we just get back up again. That’s just how it goes.”
The Eagles tested that resolve, according to the Owen coach.
“We’ve faced some very good competition in the playoffs, but that team is by far the best team we’ve played,” Morrison said. “Nobody has come back and responded to every goal that way, and seeing them fight back forced us to dig deep.”
Advancing to the NCHSAA 2A State Championship for the first time in front of the home fans felt like the “stars aligned” for the Warhorses, according to senior goalkeeper Nolan Swoap, who stopped 6 of 10 shots on goal from Lincoln Charter.
“We were able to host a home game for regionals, win here on our field and celebrate with our fans,” he said. “Plus, it’s my senior season, so all of this feels kind of unreal.”
Swoap, a member of the Owen varsity soccer roster for three years, relished the opportunity to share the moment with his teammates.
“We’ve all grown so much together over the years, and we’ve built up to this moment as a team,” he said. “The commitment we’ve had from day one has helped us get ready for this, and it’s so awesome that we’ve had this chance to do this together.”
Kendall, who has now scored 49 goals in 24 games this season, is confident his team is prepared for the biggest match in Warhorse soccer history.
“Coach always tells us to play every game like its another game, and (the championship) is just another game,” he said. “We can’t switch up how we play for our opponents, we have to stick with what works for us. Now, we just have to go out there and perform.”
Owen will face the winner of the Wednesday, Nov. 16 match between No. 3 Manteo and No. 4 Clinton.