SPORTS

Warlassies avenge playoff loss to advance to third round

Fred McCormick
Black Mountain News
The Owen Warlassies earned a trip to the third round of the NCHSAA State Playoffs for the second straight year with home wins against Smoky Mountain in the first round and Salisbury in the second. Owen will head to Hendersonville on May 15, when they face the Bearcats.

The 2018 season for the Owen Warlassies ended with the team’s first trip to the third round of the NCHSAA 2A state soccer playoffs, where they fell 2-0 to Salisbury.

This year, the Warlassies find themselves back in the third round after a strong performance in rounds one and two, including a 3-1 home win over the team eliminated them a season ago.

Owen junior Camryn Bolick fires a shot on goal against Smoky Mountain on May 6, when the Warlassies downed the Mustangs 8-2.

Owen, which enters its Wednesday, May 15 road match against former conference rival Hendersonville, entered the playoffs as a number 8 seed with a 15-2-1 record. The team was 0-2-1 through the first three games of the season before winning 15 straight in the regular season.

The Warlassies opened the playoffs with an 8-2 home victory over Smoky Mountain on May 7. Owen outscored the Mustangs 4-1 in the first half before adding to the lead in the final half.

The win set up a May 10 rematch against Salisbury, which entered the contest with a 20-2 mark.

Owen senior Carly Campbell (2) congratulates junior Camryn Bolick for scoring a goal in an 8-2 win over Smoky Mountain in the opening round of the playoffs.

Owen carried a 1-0 lead into the half and posted a 2-1 advantage over the Hornets to close out the contest.

The Warlassies will face a familiar opponent in the third round when they travel to Hendersonville to take on the Bearcats, who were the Western Highlands Conference champions in 2016 and 2017 before they were moved to the Mountain 6 Conference prior to the 2018 school year.

The Owen Warlassies opened the 2019 state playoffs with an 8-2 win over Smoky Mountain at home. The Warlassies advanced to the second round of the playoffs, where they will take on Salisbury.

Since Henderonsville’s exit from the WHC, Owen has gone 20-0 in the conference. The Bearcats, who are 20-1-1 heading into the third round, posted a 10-0 record in the Mountain 6.

The last time Owen faced off against Hendersonville, the Bearcats left Warhorse Stadium with a 3-1 victory. Hendersonville made it to the fourth round of the playoffs in 2018 before Lake Norman Charter School eliminated them with a 2-0 win.

Owen junior Camryn Bolick scores a goal against Smoky Mountain the first half of an 8-2 Warlassies home victory on May 6.

The Warlassies scored 90 goals this season and given up 16. The Bearcats have allowed only 12 goals and scored 127 as a team.

The playoff match begins at 6 p.m.