The Avery Lady Vikings fell 5-1 to Polk County in opening round play of the NCHSAA 1A soccer playoffs.
Due to a middle school track meet at Polk, the opening kickoff of the match did not begin until after 8:30 p.m., over an hour later than the advertised start time. Avery faced difficulty even before the opening kick, as Katie Peters injured an ankle as the team warmed up on an adjacent practice field. Despite obvious discomfort and immobility, the senior captain put extra tape on the injury and played through the pain in the match.
Polk scored a pair of goals at the 16th and 18th minute, respectively to take a 2-0 lead. Avery eventually settled down, withstanding an additional barrage of corner kicks to trail by the pair of goals at halftime.
Needing momentum to carry them into a comeback, Polk was the team who stole momentum authoritatively, scoring a goal in the half's first 12 seconds to take a commanding 3-0 lead. Avery's lone goal of the match came less than two minutes later as a Mary Chesnut Smith corner kick was headed into the goal by Peters, making the score 3-1.
The Lady Wolverines netted another pair of goals for the final margin of victory, sending the disappointed Big Red into the offseason.
We'll post some coach's comments and perhaps a photo or two over the next day or so. Congratulations to the Lady Vikings for a thrilling and successful season!
