Triangle boys soccer team wins Powerade State Games, girls take 3rd
The Powerade State Games made some previously impossible soccer scenes come true over the weekend.
On Saturday, West Johnston’s Kori Lawrence and Corinth Holders’ Alexis Ayers shared a home-made high-five combo before taking the field for the second half. Players from Southern Lee and Durham School of the Arts celebrated a diving save by Wake Forest goalkeeper Madison McNally.
Ayers was one of 20 girls from 11 schools to make up the “North” girls soccer squad, which won the bronze medal game to close out the tournament on Sunday at WakeMed Soccer Park. Wins and losses aside, for most players, getting to know and play with some new faces was the best part of the weekend.
“It’s about how you bond and how you play soccer together that really matters,” Ayers said.
North Johnston’s Ian Walston, one of 20 players from 14 different schools on the gold-medal winning “Central” boys soccer team, saw another advantage of teaming up with players from opposing schools.
“It’s actually quite nice because you get to know them and how they play so then whenever you play them (in the high school season) you know their strengths and weaknesses,” Walston said.
But budding friendships aren’t the only thing at stake. Participants must tryout to make the teams and are among the best players from their respective regions. The circumstances leave for some fierce competition.
“These are the best of the best girls that they take from the region,” said West Johnston’s Lawrence. “It’s a lot more physical and faster paced than the high school season. It’s a good way to challenge yourself.”
Also unique from the high school season is that players like Lawrence and Durham School of the Arts’ Sophia Griffin spend three days being teammates instead of opponents.
“You get to meet some new people, become friends and also play soccer,” Griffin said.
The regionally-based Powerade teams pit players of nearby high schools on the same side, meaning varsity rivalries are put aside at least for a weekend.
“You’re rivals there, but now you have different rivals,” Wake Forest’s Campbell said. “It’s a pretty neat experience.”
The players don’t seem to find it too difficult to root for other players they once tried to defeat.
“Being on the same team, it’s a little bit easier to (cheer) and get to know them and see how they play with you which is really cool,” McNally said.
But with club soccer, camps and other offseason programs, not everyone is a stranger.
“I’ve played with most of the guys out here,” Athens Drive’s Quinn Garrett said. “There’s only a few guys I haven’t been on a team with. We’re actually vibing pretty well out here and it’s some nice soccer actually.”
Chapel Hill’s John Walden sees yet another benefit.
“I think the coolest part is that it’s in the summer when most teams are in the offseason and there’s not much to do and it’s hard to keep training,” Walden said. “It’s an opportunity to keep your skills up and get some touches on the ball that you wouldn’t normally in the summer.”
Those touches weren’t for nothing either as the Central team won all three of its games by a combined score of 7-2.
Ravenscroft’s Connor Gridley saw the silver lining through a rash of Friday and Saturday storms that forced a hectic schedule change followed by a Sunday heat wave.
“You get to play with a lot of guys that you don’t usually get to play with in high school and club,” Gridley said. “You get to meet a lot of new guys in a low pressure environment and just go out and have fun.”
This story was originally published June 29, 2015 at 12:04 AM with the headline "Triangle boys soccer team wins Powerade State Games, girls take 3rd."