Playoff predictions, top players, team favorites, upset alerts for girls soccer playoffs
The N.C. High School Athletic Association girls soccer playoffs begin Monday with opening round games. The winners advance to Thursday's second round.
In this playoff preview we hand out bracket superlatives, give four favorites and one dark horse for each bracket half, and even make championship predictions (that we're sure nobody will have any problem with and will be shocked if any of them don't pan out, right?).
We also listed the top 10 players in each bracket half. Many of these players are candidates for our all-state teams that are released a few weeks after the regular season. There's a first, second, and third team of 20 players each, plus an honorable mention team of 40.
Quick links
- Preseason Watch List (Insider)
- Class of 2024 recruits
- End-of-regular-season rankings
- Last year's 4A title (Ardrey Kell over Ashley)
- Last year's 3A title (Eastern Alamance over South Point)
- Last year's 2A title (Manteo over Wheatmore)
- Last year's 1A title (Christ the King over Woods Charter
- Last year's all-state team
- Last year's final rankings
Enjoy the rest of this column below:
4A East breakdown
Bracket Superlatives
Best first-round matchup — (14) Laney has nothing easy in a home match against (19) East Chapel Hill.
Best chance at a first-round upset — (26) Enloe has a shot at one-loss (7) Purnell Swett.
The hardest road — (4) Holly Springs could face Green Level in the second round and Cardinal Gibbons, Apex, or Wakefield in the third!
The easiest road — Ashley will have a tough second-round match, but it would take an upset to not see them in the fourth round.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (1) Ashley
Favorite #2 — (2) Millbrook
Favorite #3 — (3) Chapel Hill
Favorite #4 — (5) Cardinal Gibbons
Dark horse — (16) Apex Friendship
Our top 10 players in the bracket
- Karina Peat, Ashley
- Maggie Roepke, Ashley
- Kiley Peat, Ashley
- Gabby Ciocca, Chapel Hill
- Katelyn Burnette, Millbrook
- Emily Degnan, Apex
- Anna Rydin, Chapel Hill (D)
- Lauren Hollis, Millbrook (GK)
- Reese Kulha, Holly Springs
- Sophia Juhasz, Cardinal Gibbons
4A West breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — (21)
Best chance at a first-round upset — (26) Myers Park is better than its record and could knock off (7) Northwest Guilford (the opposite happened on the boys' side this fall)
The hardest road — (4) Ardrey Kell has a harder road than some others given how (13) Charlotte Catholic, (20) Page, and (5) Asheville have played this year.
The easiest road — (2) Hough has a path to the fourth round that's pretty favorable.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (2) Hough
Favorite #2 — (4) Ardrey Kell
Favorite #3 — (3) West Forsyth
Favorite #4 — (13) Charlotte Catholic
Dark horse — (9) Providence
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Kylee Thompson, Hough
- Aislynn Maguire, West Forsyth
- Meredith Palmer, Cuthbertson
- Ellie Riechman, Ardrey Kell
- Katie Durham, Watauga
- Reese DeJong, Cox Mill (GK)
- Lily Heaslet, South Mecklenburg (GK)
- Morgan Stallings, Northwest Guilford
- Bella Dragone, Providence
- Nicole Kleyner, Sun Valley
3A East breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — (18) Orange and (15) Eastern Alamance are separated by 13 miles and, probably, just a goal.
Best chance at a first-round upset — (22) West Johnston is quite familiar with (11) Fike already and has knocked off Hunt already this year (something Fike didn't do).
The hardest road — (4) Hunt has no easy matches the whole way, aside from maybe its first rounder.
The easiest road — (2) Jacksonville will need a strong efffort in the second round, but the third and first look promising.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (2) Jacksonville
Favorite #2 — (1) Western Alamance
Favorite #3 — (3) Carrboro
Favorite #4 — (4) Hunt
Dark horse — (13) Williams
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Gillian Garrison, Lee County
- Abby Brinker, Eastern Alamance
- Makenzie Morrow, Jacksonville
- Erin Pope, Fike
- Julia Spang, Carrboro
- Azumi Oka, Jacksonville
- Cappa Bunn, Hunt
- Brianna Dale, Western Alamance
- Mariah Polk, Hunt
- Taryn Pekala, Union Pines
3A West breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — (22) Stuart Cramer at (11) Northwest Cabarrus is a tougher one than it shows on paper.
Best chance at a first-round upset — (24) North Iredell at (9) Piedmont might not be an upset for some, but we'll take it here.
The hardest road — Congrats (3) West Henderson. You will have a tough second and third round and an even tougher fourth.
The easiest road — (1) Hibriten gets a favorable path to the fourth round.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (5) Hickory
Favorite #2 — (1) Hibriten
Favorite #3 — (2) North Davidson
Favorite #4 — (6) Lake Norman Charter
Dark horse — (10) East Lincoln
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Marianne Maxon, West Henderson
- Abbie Hege, East Lincoln
- Keelan Moore, North Davidson
- Megan Story, Northwest Cabarrus
- Maddie Ballard, Piedmont
- Mia Zulueta, Hickory
- Raegan Watts, Hibriten
- Carlise Grimes, Atkins
- Reese Sullivan, North Davidson
- Kate Robinson, Lake Norman Charter
2A East breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — (12) Southwest Onslow has its hands full at home with (21) Holmes.
Best chance at a first-round upset — Not a chance for too many upsets, but let's give (23) North Pitt at (10) Clinton a shot.
The hardest road — (4) Seaforth has a harder draw than the others, despite probably being favored to move to the fourth round.
The easiest road — (1) Franklin Academy might stumble into a tough second round matchup, but will be favored until the fourth at minimum.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (2) Manteo
Favorite #2 — (1) Franklin Academy
Favorite #3 — (4) Seaforth
Favorite #4 — (3) Roanoke Rapids
Dark horse — (6) Washington
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Sofia Viana, Seaforth
- Kenzie Flynn, Manteo
- Casey Neal, Roanoke Rapids
- Claire Stengl, Franklin Academy (D)
- Kenzy Yang, Clinton
- Caitlin Erman, Seaforth
- Taylor Waters, Eastern Wayne
- Macie Allison, Princeton
- Olivia Olarte, Franklin Academy
- Isabella Rogers, Northwood
2A West breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — It might be (20) Forst Hills at (13) Providence Grove.
Best chance at a first-round upset — (24) West Stokes at (9) West Stanly? Might not be too many true upsets to choose from here.
The hardest road — (4) West Davidson won't have anything easy aside from its first round.
The easiest road — (3) Wilkes Central avoids some heavy hitters aside from two-time defending 2A West champ (6) Wheatmore.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (1) Pine Lake Prep
Favorite #2 — (3) Wilkes Central
Favorite #3 — (4) West Davidson
Favorite #4 — (2) Hendersonville
Dark horse — (6) Wheatmore
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Ellie Garrison, Wheatmore
- Abby Connolly, East Davidson
- Avery Garrett, Pine Lake Prep
- Anna Rollins, Wilkes Central
- Maddyson Kerley, Pine Lake Prep
- Tyler Baughn, CSD
- Natalie Bowman, Wheatmore
- Zuleyma Jimenez, Forest Hills
- Riley Huffman, Wilkes Central
- Raygan Gainey, West Stanly
1A East breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — (20) Oxford Prep at (13) Southside could go down to the wire.
Best chance at a first-round upset — (26) Rosewood is a bit of a long shot at (7) Perquimans, but it's worth noting as a possibility.
The hardest road — (1) Voyager might still come out of the first three rounds unscathed, but they have the tougher road than the other top four seeds.
The easiest road — (2) Woods Charter has only a few teams in its bracket half that can measure up to its scoring punch.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (2) Woods Charter
Favorite #2 — (4) Hobbton
Favorite #3 — (1) Voyager Academy
Favorite #4 — (3) Lejeune
Dark horse — (6) East Bladen
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Leyla Noronha, Woods Charter
- Sienna Gray, Woods Charter
- Amelia Cherry, Woods Charter
- McKayla Harris, Hobbton
- Denisse Jorge, Hobbton
- Scarlett McLean, Lejeune
- Sydnie Barfield, River Mill Academy
- Alaina Bustillo, Voyager Academy
- Tyler Sweitzer, Perquimans
- Mandi Miller, Voyager Academy
1A West breakdown
Bracket superlatives
Best first-round matchup — (18) Gray Stone Day at (15) Elkin is a tough draw for both.
Best chance at a first-round upset — (22) Bradford Prep at (11) South Davidson may not qualify as a true upset, but we like it here.
The hardest road — (1) Mountain Island Charter has more challengers in its bracket half than you think.
The easiest road — (2) Polk County had some things fall into place that opens the door for the Wolverines.
Four favorites and a dark horse
Favorite #1 — (1) Mountain Island Charter
Favorite #2 — (12) Christ the King
Favorite #3 — (8) Union Academy
Favorite #4 — (3) Uwharrie Charter
Dark horse — (7) Thomas Jefferson
Top 10 players in the bracket
- Elizabeth Navola, Christ the King (GK)
- Heidi Estrada-Aguilar, Union Academy
- Cheyenne Painter, Mountain Island Charter
- Karena Cline, Swain County
- Kate Deaton, Mount Airy
- Addison-Angel Pierce
- Mya Burrows-Kurr, Swain County
- Madison Joyner, Highland Tech
- Jazmin Palma, Uwharrie Charter
- Lailee Holloway, Murphy
Championship and regional final predictions
Locations, dates named for NCHSAA spring sports state championships
NCHSAA predictions
4A East: (1) Ashley over (2) Millbrook
4A West: (2) Hough over (9) Providence
4A championship: Ashley over Hough
3A East: (2) Jacksonville over (4) Hunt
3A West: (5) Hickory over (6) Lake Norman Charter
3A championship: Jacksonville over Hickory
2A East: (4) Seaforth over (2) Manteo
2A West: (1) Pine Lake Prep over (3) Wilkes Central
2A championship: Pine Lake Prep over Seaforth
1A East: (2) Woods Charter over (4) Hobbton
1A West: (12) Christ the King over (7) Thomas Jefferson
1A championship: Woods Charter over Christ the King
NCISAA predictions
4A: (1) Providence Day over (2) Charlotte Latin
3A: (2) Forsyth Country Day over (1) Cape Fear Academy
2A: (3) Davidson Day over (1) Trinity Academy
1A: (1) Cresset Christian over (3) Crossroads Christian
