Pine Lake Prep edges Franklin Academy, wins its first NC state girls’ soccer title
Pine Lake Prep is a girls’ soccer state champion.
The Mooresville school stayed hot with a 2-1 victory over Franklin Academy to win the North Carolina 2A girls’ soccer title on Saturday at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex.
Senior midfielder Avery Garrett, a Campbell Camels signee, blasted the go-ahead strike late in the game on a feed from Sadie Peterson, the Pride’s Clemson-bound junior and leading scorer.
“Everyone had a good mindset going into this year,” Garrett said. “Everyone knew the role they had to play. And everyone succeeded in doing that.”
Pine Lake handed the Patriots their only loss this season. The nearly 20-year-old Iredell County school reached the state championship for the second straight year, avenging its loss on penalty kicks.
“I just feel bad for the teams three, four, five years ago that could have been doing it all along,” Pine Lake head coach Paul Ebenhoeh said. “I told them before the game: We play for each other, we play for our conference and we play for the alumni who have set this legacy up for us.
“Pine Lake women’s soccer should have been winning titles for years. We’ll be back.”
How the Pride won their first state title
Peterson opened the scoring with a shot past goalie Griffin Coward from the middle of the pitch.
The Pride (21-2) held a 1-0 advantage at halftime, giving itself strong chances to score and consistently turning away the opposition’s high-powered offensive unit.
It didn’t take long for Franklin Academy (24-1) to score the equalizer.
Kayla Rice, a Davidson commit and star junior midfielder, hammered home a goal off an assist from senior forward Olivia Olarte early in the second half.
Garrett’s score off the assist from Peterson came with just over 14 minutes left in regulation, giving the Pride their final advantage.
Notable
▪ Pine Lake Prep entered the state championship without allowing a goal — outscoring its opponents, 41-0 — throughout the 2A playoffs.
▪ Peterson, the Clemson commit who finished the season with 54 goals and 25 assists, moved back to North Carolina after spending two years at IMG Academy.
▪ Franklin Academy, the school in Wake Forest, came into the state title game with a 24-0 record on the season.
They said it
“I watched the game, but I came to play high school for fun,” Peterson said. “It became so much more as I just wanted to do it for them with the heartbreak last year.
“We have a ton of freshmen with little experience, but they showed up to practice every day. I’ve got to give it to them: They put in the work.”
This story was originally published May 31, 2025 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Pine Lake Prep edges Franklin Academy, wins its first NC state girls’ soccer title."
