The pairings for the North Carolina 1A soccer playoffs were released on Monday morning, and the Western Highlands Conference champion and #3 ranked Avery Lady Vikings will host its first match against Mountain Valley Athletic Conference foe West Wilkes. The Lady Black Hawks enter the tournament as a wild card with a record of 13-7 for the season.Avery and West Wilkes were scheduled to meet earlier this season in Miller's Creek, but rain forced the cancellation of the match with no game rescheduled.
Should Avery advance to the second round an intriguing opponent awaits, as the Big Red will take on the winner of the first round match between Highlands and Hendersonville.
Highlands plays on a nororiously short field and used its home field advantage to defeat the Avery boys in playoff action in the fall, while the Hendersonville squad lost to Avery in Newland but played the Lady Vikings to a scoreless tie on their home field. The Lady Bearcats and their coaches felt that they should have beaten Avery and believe they are a better team, saying as much in sentiments shared to their local media following that match.
The full 1A playoff soccer bracket can be found here on the NCHSAA's official website. Best of luck Lady Vikings!
