Warhorses roll through the first round
Owen soccer opens the postseason with 8-1 win over Madison
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 10, 2024
The opening round of the 2024 NCHSAA 2A State Soccer Playoffs included a matchup of familiar foes, Nov. 9, as the Western Highlands Conference Champion and fifth seeded Warhorses hosted fellow conference member, No. 28 Madison.
The home team rolled, 8-1, to its seventh straight victory, advancing to a 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 12, second round contest against No. 12 Newton-Conover in Warhorse Stadium.
Owen, which entered the match a week after clinching its fifth consecutive WHC title, was on the scoreboard within the first 10 minutes of play, as senior Hudson McGuire launched a shot over the opposing goalkeeper’s head from about 40 yards out. Junior Spencer Woolley, who finished the night with a hat trick, scored his first goal minutes later, with an assist from senior Owen Lollis.
Woolley, was one of four Warhorses to record a goal in the first half, when the team established a 5-1 advantage before the break.
“Overall, I thought we had great movement to start the game,” he said. “This was a very good start to the playoffs for us, and I think if we keep this momentum going we can go all the way.”
Woolley led his team with 3 goals, while senior Davis Kendall and junior Caden Mobley each scored a pair on the way to a dominant first round win. While the offensive showing was impressive, according to head coach Trei Morrison, the defense set the tone throughout the night.
“We worked really hard the last week and a half on our defensive shape and our pressing shape, as well as getting players in the pockets,” he said. “We forced some turnovers that allowed us to shift right into an attack. Guys like Hudson and Nolan (McTeague Pospishil) did a great job of organizing the guys in front of them.”
The Warhorses were relentless on the attacking end, manufacturing 24 shots on goal, while the defense limited the Patriots to 2 attempts.
“This is the time of year when we know it can’t always be about the attack, because we’ll face teams that will push us a little bit,” Morrison said. “I’m really proud of the boys, because they’ve been working hard to make sure we’re all playing our style and our game.”
That collective focus is represented in the team’s pregame chant, according to Woolley.
“Play hard, play tough, play together, play to win is what we say before every game,” he said. “That’s really a reflection of what coach is always telling us. If we keep playing together and organized, as a team, it doesn’t matter if one player slips out of position, we can recover and overwhelm teams quickly.”
That approach has allowed the Warhorses to outscore their opponents by a combined 37-4 in their last seven matches.
“We know if we commit to that, it could lead us to a state championship,” Woolley said.
Owen won its first state title in 2022, before finishing last season in a West Regional loss to Community School of Davidson. The key to another deep postseason run for the Warhorses will be maintaining the momentum they have built since returning to action after Tropical Storm Helene kept them off the field for over a month.
“We know we just have to keep the train rolling,” Morrison said. “Keep stoking that fire, don’t allow ourselves to drop off and be ready. If we’re going to go all the way, we have to play six games in 14 days, so we have to play at a pace where we don’t exert too much energy, but when we need to turn it up, we can.”
Photos of Owen’s 2024 first round playoff victory over Madison can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.