Lady Highlanders win last five games, securing conference championship moving on to second round of NCHSAA Playoffs
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Photo by Christopher Lugo/Staff Senior Reese Schmitt congratulates sophomore Aislynn Luck after her goal against Queens Grant.
The Highlands School Lady Highlanders varsity soccer team is on a five-game winning streak after defeating Blue Ridge Early College, Hayesville, Murphy, Swain County and Queen’s Grant all in May.
Over the past five games, the Lady Highlanders secured the Smoky Mountain Conference Championship after shutting out Swain County, 2-0, and have advanced to the second round of the North Carolina High School Association’s State Playoffs with a dominating win over Queen’s Grant 10-2.
Conference Championship:
Highlands – 2
Swain County – 0
Over the course of the season, the Lady Highlanders met Swain County three times, splitting the first two. After being tied for conference champions, the two rivals met in Franklin on Thursday, May 12.
Aislynn Luck started things off for the Lady Highlanders with a shot against Swain with 33:05 left in the first half, but the shot went wide right.
Reese Schmitt followed, tracking the ball down the right side and dropping it to Hayley Borino at the top of the 18-yard box, who sent the ball over the goal.
With 26:40 left in the half, Reese Schmitt brought the ball down at the 18-yard box but sent it over the goal.
Hayley Borino kept the pressure on the Lady Devils and hit a volley over the Swain goalkeeper to go up 1-0.
With 21:25 left in the half, Gabby Diaz connected with Hayley Borino, who shot it straight to the Swain goalkeeper.
Swain had some momentum with two shots, but both missed the target.
With 6:14 left in the half, Gabby Diaz was fouled at the top of the 18-yard box, setting up a direct kick for Hayley Borino, but the kick went wide right.
Caroline Woods had a direct kick that went straight to the Swain goalkeeper to end the half.
Julia Schmitt started things off in the second half with a shot outside the 18-yard box that went wide left.
Gabby Diaz then had a cross that Addie Westendorf found the end of, but the ball went over the goal.
Swain put the pressure on Highlands with 30:04 left in the game when their striker had a volley, but it hit the crossbar.
With 20 minutes left in the game, Julia Schmitt had a hard shot outside the 18-yard box, but it went over the goal.
Swain kept the pressure on the Lady Highlanders, setting up a corner with 15 minutes left in the game, but Addie Westendorf headed the ball out and away from danger.
With four minutes left, Swain pushed one final time, crossing the ball across the face of the goal and settling it on the right side of the 18-yard box, but they could not finish.
To end the match, Addie Westendorf punched a through ball to Gabby Diaz with 15 seconds left. Diaz swept the ball past the Swain goalkeeper to end the scoring effort at 2-0.
With 10 minutes left in the game, coach Caleb Brown said he was ready for the girls to put the game to bed.
“When it gets to the last 10, five minutes of the game, it is the most important part of the game,” Brown said. “I start getting nervous and really worried when we are only up one goal. It is all a momentum thing. If you’re one goal up and they score in the last 10 minutes, it can kill your team. So, for us to come back in the last 30 seconds and put another one in, it was really great. That’s what I call ‘putting it to bed.’”
Brown said this win is extremely important for him and the girls.
“First off, it lets them know that they are number one in the conference,” Brown said. “They had split with this team and now they are 2-1. So, that is a big thing. It also gives us a better seeding for the playoffs. This is a really good group of girls, and they are a really great team. They are excited and I think they will do well in the playoffs.”
First Round of NCHSAA Playoffs:
Highlands – 10
Queen’s Grant – 2
The Lady Highlanders played fast soccer to route Queen’s Grant at home on Monday night, 10-2.
Things got started pretty quick when Hayley Borino reached the end of a through ball and sent it past the Lady Stallion goalkeeper to go up 1-0.
About 30 seconds later, Reese Schmitt chased down another through ball, but missed a 1v1 situation, sending the ball over the goal.
With 26:35 left in the first half, Julia Schmitt dropped the ball off to Brandy Zagal on the left corner of the 18-yard box. Zagal connected and sent the ball over the Lady Stallion goalkeeper to increase the Lady Highlander lead 2-0.
Two minutes later, Reese Schmitt found herself wide open at the top right of the 18-yard box. After taking a touch inside, she sent a rocket into the back of the net to make it 3-0.
Queen’s Grant had a shot with 21:59 left in the first half, but it went wide right.
With 14:36 left in the half, Reese Schmitt found the end of a through ball and tried to put it in the bottom corner, but the Lady Stallion goalkeeper was there to make the stop. The Queen’s Grant goalkeeper couldn’t hold on to the ball and Gabby Diaz was there to pick up the scraps, putting the ball in the net to go up 4-0.
With 9:30 left in the first half, Reese Schmitt connected with Gabby Diaz, who put it past the Lady Stallion goalkeeper to increase the Lady Highlander lead 5-0.
Highlands didn’t let up with four minutes left in the first half. Aislynn Luck broke through the Lady Stallion defense and found the back of the net to make it 6-0.
With 25 seconds left in the first half, the Lady Stallions had a direct kick that was rocketed in the back of the net to cut the Lady Highlander lead 6-1.
Queen’s Grant took the first shot of the second half, but it went wide left.
The Lady Stallions kept their momentum going, setting up a corner kick with 35:28 left in the game. After the ball bounced around in the box for a few seconds, it found the back of the Lady Highlander net, to make it 6-2.
The Lady Highlanders thought they increased the score after a cross by Julia Schmitt connected with Reese Schmitt, but R. Schmitt was called offsides.
With 20:48 left in the game, Addie Westendorf found Brandy Zagal open on a cross and she buried it to increase the Lady Highlander lead 7-2.
Two minutes later, Caroline Woods connected with Hayley Borino who found the back of the net once again, making it 8-2.
A handball in the box set up a penalty kick for the Lady Highlanders with 16:04 left to play. Julia Schmitt stepped up to the penalty spot and sent it straight down the middle, hitting the crossbar and inside the goal to go up 9-2.
Hayley Borino finished the scoring effort at 10-2, for the Lady Highlanders with 12:23 left in the game, tapping it by the Lady Stallion goalkeeper.
Hayley Borino ended the night with a hattrick.
“The girls came out firing and I was absolutely elated,” Coach Caleb Brown said. “The start of the half was not as good. I was starting to get a little nervous when they scored inside the first 10 minutes. The goal in the first half was just beautifully took. You could just tell that our girls were ready to go. They were confident, but they weren’t cocky.”
For the second round of the NCHSAA playoffs, Brown said they are focused on playing their game of soccer.
“When the girls play our game of soccer, you see the results,” Brown said. “They moved the ball effectively. You could see them light up as they played and moved the ball well. They played as a unit. It is some of the best soccer they have played all year.”
With the win, the Lady Highlanders (13-3-1) take on Elkin (15-3-1) in Highlands on Thursday, May 19, at 5 p.m.
- By Christopher Lugo