By Sophie Johnson, Sports Editor
Merriam-Webster defines determination as a firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired end. Members of the First Flight women’s soccer team have had their eyes set on a state title all season, and now all their hard work comes down to one final game.
“It’s probably the happiest I’ve been in a while: I started crying when there were 30 seconds left in the game because I was excited,” junior Suki Holian said.
Those feelings emerged Wednesday, when FFHS throttled Carrboro 4-0 to win the NCHSAA 2A East Regional championship. That victory over the three-time defending state champ set up Saturday’s showdown at 2 p.m. in Raleigh against Lake Norman Charter. Carrboro had knocked FFHS out of the playoffs the past two seasons.
“It was the best feeling in the world, probably the best night of soccer I’ve played in my entire life,” junior Ashley Forbes said. “We’ve been talking about beating Carrboro for seven years and it was a dream for it to finally come true.”
Added sophomore Megan Limbacher: “It felt good because we’re one of the smaller schools on the East side and we beat the bigger school.”
Tears were shed, hugs were distributed and pictures were taken to celebrate the big win that night. The players also decided to dye their hair blue in honor of making it to the state championship.
“We dyed our hair blue to show team unity and it’s really funny — we like good laughs here on the soccer team,” Forbes said.
The blue dye will eventually fade, but the memories will last forever. Not everyone can say that they’ve made it to a state championship.
“To me it means proving that I have the best team in the state by my side,” Forbes said. “I’m with some of my best friends and I can’t wait to make one of the best memories of my high school life.”
Win or lose, the memories will certainly last forever. First Flight faces a Lake Norman Charter team that also was seeded second in the bracket. The Knights are 22-0-1 this season, their only tie coming against Cox Mill in the second game of the season. They’ve had shutouts in 17 of their 22 wins, including their last nine games. But the biggest storyline with Lake Norman Charter is sophomore scoring sensation Ayden Yates. She has 44 goals and 26 assists this year and already has verbally committed to play in college at Virginia Tech. She scored 45 goals in her freshman season.
Sophomore Kasey Hahn has added 16 goals and 26 assists for the Knights, while seniors Olivia Tanaka and Alex Behnke have 10 goals each.
FFHS enters with a record of 24-2-1, with 18 shutouts from junior keeper Codie Patterson. The Nighthawks have gotten key playoff goals from Casey Bouker, Nicole York, Emma Byard and others in a versatile attack.
Tickets are $10 per the NCHSAA and you can pre-order at https://gofan.co/app/events/24226. Fans who can’t make it to the game are encouraged to follow the action on the Nighthawk News social media accounts.
Junior Sophie Johnson can be reached at johnsonso0628@daretolearn.org.
