CLAYTON, NC-- The Neuse Charter School Cougars Girls soccer team defeated the Voyager Academy Vikings 3-0 in the second round of the NCHSAA 1A Playoffs on Wednesday night at the East Clayton park.  

 

The Cougars attacked early, scoring just 10 minutes into the game. The Vikings had a throw-in on the Cougars side of the pitch, which the Cougars were able to counter and travel the length of the field leading to a goal scored by freshman forward Grayson Dunn. The Cougars were not finished yet, scoring just 5 minutes later on another goal by freshman Grayson Dunn. 

 

Neuse Charter would hold a commanding  2-0 lead for a majority of the game. The Cougars sealed their victory with another goal in the 77th minute, to go up 3-0 on the Vikings. A series of 3 consecutive corner kicks for the Cougars would prove vital, as sophomore Olivia Malzahn was able to score (her second goal of the playoffs) off of a Grayson Dunn corner kick. 

 

Junior goalkeeper MacKenzie Johnson had another brilliant performance, collecting 11 saves in goal to keep a clean sheet for the Cougars. Senior defenders Delaney Harris and Mia Manning held the backline steady all game and were key contributors to the Cougars shutout victory.

 

"The girls played extremely hard and executed our game plan perfectly. They held their position very well and were able to stay up and get some shots on goal. Those shots turned into goals and were what we needed tonight." Neuse Charter Head Coach, Brad Ward.

 

With the victory, the seventh seed Cougars advance to the Elite 8 for the first time in program history. They are scheduled to play at three-seed Franklin Academy on Friday, May 7th with a spot at the Eastern Regional Finals on the line.