Pine Lake wins again, sets up 4th round playoff match

Pine Lake Prep girl’s soccer picked up another huge victory Monday night vs Forest Hills.  They have set themselves up for a big 4^th round matchup vs Hendersonville Thursday night.  Game Time will be 6pm at Pine Lake Prep field.

Let us back up a bit before we talk about the game.  Early in the season, Pine Lake Prep knew they had a good team.  Coupled with the fact they also had a new head coach coming into the season, fan-favorite Paul Ebenhoeh, expectations were high.  And Pine Lake Prep delivered on all counts.  Away games at 2 4A schools were on the schedule, along with a few new teams and tough rivalry matchups. 

The season opened with a big win vs Lake Norman, a top-tier team year in and out.  Back that up two days later with a win vs Mooresville (photos shown), another 4A team win.  Pine Lake Prep had 5 wins throughout the season against 4A teams without a single defeat.  Expectations exceeded and then some!

Throughout the season there were ups and downs (mostly ups) with a lone loss versus rival Christ the King, which could be played again in the future at some point.  However, The Pride must win against Hendersonville, or this discussion will be moot.

The Pine Lake Prep seniors this year and 2023 graduates are Ella Peterson, Maddie Hiteshue, Fallon Reidy, Lainey Thompson, Kate Bagozzi, and Vanessa Hurley.  Along with a huge core of underclassmen, make this team a threat against any high school in the state.

The Playoffs and Owen

The round 2 matchup vs Owen High School was a tough match.  Owen came in prepared to win and played a very physical match to keep it close with Pine Lake.  In addition, Pine Lake did start off a bit slow and did not play their best game. 

Pine Lake Prep freshman goalkeeper Madison Harris has been flawless all season and once again kept Owen scoreless during the first half followed by outstanding defensive efforts from Elizabeth Perri, Kendall Love, Allie Barfield, and Lainey Thompson.  Center backs Perri and Love along with Barfield put up with a lot of physical play at midfield, winning most of the matchups.  This was key to controlling the field and setting up the Pine Lake Prep attackers.  Pine Lake Prep did get some shots on goal, but again, Owen played hard in the box with an aggressive goalkeeper who didn’t make a mistake.  Nil to nil at the half was not the start Pine Lake Prep was looking for and adjustments needed to be made.

Ella Peterson, Maddie Hiteshue, Gracie Hughes, and Ansley Nixdorf all contributed in the middle to hold the Warhorses at bay.  (photos shown) Every threat Owen attempted was shut down fast and became visually frustrating for the Warhorses near the end.  Hughes battled all day and some great headers that shut down Owen when advancing into the Pine Lake side of the field.  Textbook play all around and you can tell The Pride has been playing together for a long time and are very well coached.

Peterson seemed to be all over the field trying to drop chances in front of the net for Kerley and Garrett(among others)   which became a consistent theme on the day.  Finally, during one of the drives during the early second half, Kerley dropped a “good ball” down near a streaking Avery Garrett who turned on it and put it in the back of the net. beating Owen’s goalkeeper.  You could not have drawn it up on paper any better.   Following the Garrett goal, Kerley didn’t want to miss out on the action and struck one for herself on a quick turnaround like the previous goal.  2-0 Pine Lake with an insurance goal.  Pine Lake Prep held on for a 2-0 victory and advanced to round 3 of the NCHSAA State Playoffs.

Forest Hills Yellow Jackets

Coming off the victory against Owen last Thursday, the Pine Lake Pride wanted to start the game off better than they did against Owen.  Our coverage team barely arrived at the gray pitch right before Maddyson Kerley knocked one in moments into the game. (photo shown) Kerley found some space in the box and quickly turned and beat the keeper on a straight shot.

Avery Garrett only moments later took advantage of a loose ball that hopped near the right side of the goal.  Garrett saw two defenders closing from both sides and shot the ball between them into the net.  The first to greet her was Ansley Nixdorf who was part of breaking up the Forest Hills attack. (photo shown) Nixdorf took the brunt of many elbows in last Thursday’s Owen matchup, and it clearly didn’t affect her against Forest Hills.

We had a chance to speak with Elizabeth Perri (audio below) and began calling her “the killer”.  The main reason for this is she killed every Forest Hills drive while holding this 2-0 lead.  Ella Peterson or Allie Barfield broke free and moved the ball deep into the Forest Hills end once The Pride defenders stopped a run.  Peterson kept beating her defender and dropping in great opportunities.  Give the Forest Hills goalie a lot of credit for many great saves in the game, but The Pride just kept on coming.

With a safe lead just past halfway of the first half, Pine Lake’s Fallon Reidy, made two separate moves, split the defenders, and shot a ball in the left corner of the net beating the out-stretched hand of the Forest Hills goalie. (photo shown) This made the score 3-0 heading into halftime, setting up a positive outlook for the second half.

About five minutes later Pine Lake almost scored again on a great pass by Avery Garrett, that dropped in front for Maddyson Kerley.  Kerley rushed the net hard, and the Forest Hills goalie nearly gave up goal number 4. (photo shown)

But it didn’t take long for that 4^th goal when Ella Peterson made a great pass with some bend that Ansley Nixdorf was ready for.  The Forest Hills goalie was forced to the far side of the net leaving it open for Nixdorf who delivered making the match 4 nil Pine Lake Prep. (photo shown)  It was many setups for Peterson on the day, who seemed to be outrunning the Hills defenders dropping dimes in the box left and right.

Peterson once again caused a stir deep in the Forest Hills end by screening the goalie and defender.  This caused a mistake by the goalie that Laila Gillmore was going to take advantage of.  Gillmore immediately moved to her left and hit a rocket into the open net savagely destroying any further hope for the Forest Hills team.

Both Pine Lake Prep goalies Madison Harris and Rebecca Decamp saw action in the game and held the Yellow Jackets scoreless on the night.

On the night Maddyson Kerley led with 7 shots on goal, Gracie Hughes and Avery Garrett had 4 each. Goals were scored by Kerley and Garrett followed by Fallon Reidy and Ansley Nixdorf, finishing up with Laila Gillmore for a total of 5.

Hear the Pine Lake Prep girls post game interviews below.  In addition, great comments from head coach Paul Ebenhoeh along with what to expect from Hendersonville and thoughts on the season.