Southern Lee’s Anstead rewrote school record books in girls soccer

Southern Lee’s Laurynn Ansted played her final high school match on Monday in the second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association. In fitting fashion, Ansted came through with two more goals to increase her season total to an even 50.

“Laurynn is an incredible player,” said Southern Lee coach Chris Gill. “She is a game-changer. Half the time, she will get the ball, and I will look at my assistant coach. We will both say ‘goal’ because we know where (the play) will end up at.”

Ansted, a four-year starter, had the pleasure of being a teammate of her older sister, Kasslyn, for two seasons at Southern Lee. Kasslyn graduated and now attends N.C. State, but Anstead remained in Tramway to become one of the most productive offensive players in Southern Lee’s school history.

“My sister and I – we were definitely competitive (with each other),” Ansted said. “That really helped me with my drive and effort. ... I’ve always just come out (on the field) and tried to do my best. It was nice that this ended up being my highest-scoring year.”

Ansted hasn’t officially decided if she has collected her final career goal.

She will attend UNC-Wilmington in the fall, but might choose to join the school’s women’s soccer program as a walk-on – or maybe even compete on the club team level.

This story was originally published May 16, 2017 at 11:54 AM with the headline "Southern Lee’s Anstead rewrote school record books in girls soccer."