Soccer Cougars Secure State Championship

Charlotte Catholic men’s varsity soccer made history as they secured their eighth NCHSAA state championship against the Middle Creek Mustangs on Saturday, November 23. This win was significant not only because it makes the Cougars the first team to ever win a 6A soccer state championship in North Carolina, but also because the team is now tied for having the second-most high school state championships in the state. 

Charlotte Catholic families, students, faculty, and alumni all showed up to support the team in this intense match that came down to the wire. According to High School OT, it was only the 10th time in NCHSAA state championship history that a game came down to penalty kicks. 

Going into the game, Catholic’s leading scorer, Rex Bumgarner, had received a red card in the semi-final match against A.C. Reynolds for a celebration after a goal. By rule, this meant that Rex would not be allowed to play in the championship game. This loss was detrimental to the team as Rex had scored two hat tricks in the games leading up to the state championship.

The first half of the game was scoreless. However, early in the second half, Middle Creek took a lead against the Cougars off of a rebound goal. The Cougars then trailed for the next 40 minutes, but in the 71st minute of the game, center midfielder Braden Mathis was fouled in the goalie box and scored a crucial penalty kick that tied the game.

Once regulation ended, the two teams engaged in two ten-minute overtimes and two five-minute overtimes before ultimately going head to head in penalty kicks. For Charlotte Catholic, the players that took the penalty kicks were Daniel Collins, Braden Mathis, Sean Lynds, and Emmett Drensek. Daniel’s shot ricocheted off of the post and the cougars went down one, but after a missed Middle Creek shot and a clutch save by Cougar goalkeeper Aiden Turton, Brady and Sean both scored their penalty kicks. It all came down to Emmett, who placed the ball perfectly in the corner, winning the game for the cougars.

The entire team rushed to the corner of the stadium in celebration. They jumped into the crowd, high-fiving and hugging all their friends and family in the stands. Following this, the NCHSAA committee awarded the trophy to the team and named Braden Mathis as the game’s MVP.

When asked how he felt after the win, junior right-winger Rogan Crenshaw said, “All the hard work that our team had put in finally paid off.” Rogan mentioned how proud he was of the team and that even though they faced adversity throughout the season, they came together when it mattered most.

Cougars celebrate their historic win (Credit: HighSchoolOT)