Pack, Panthers hit the road for fall playoffs

Published 4:47 pm Friday, October 21, 2022

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The volleyball and tennis playoffs are underway, while girls golf is over and soccer has one more week of regular season action. Here’s how the county teams stack up:

Volleyball: Two losses to league rival Pamlico County in the last three matches cost the Northside Panthers a higher seed in the 1A state tournament. The Panthers (18-5, 9-1) are the 15th seed and host number 19 Union Saturday at 2 p.m. With a win, the Panthers would travel to #3 Perquimans Tuesday. Neuse Charter is the top seed. The Panthers shared the Coastal Plains Conference regular season title with the Hurricanes, but lost to them, 3-1, in the conference tournament finals giving Pamlico the eighth seed.

Washington is the 19th seed in the 2A East bracket after a third place finish in the Eastern Plains Conference. The Pack posted a 13-9 record and went 9-4 in the league for their best finish in five years. They play at #14 East Bladen Saturday afternoon.

Southside finished the season 0-19.

Tennis: Washington is in the dual-team state tournament and the individual East regional. The team advanced to the second round with a 6-3 win at Edenton Holmes Wednesday after a 13-3 regular season that saw them finish second in the conference to Greene Central. Ana Roberson (6-3, 3-6, 10-8), Abby Lewis (6-0, 2-6, 10-5), Avery Thomas (6-3, 6-4) and Olivia Feyer (7-5, 6-4) won the three through six singles matches, then Roberson/Thomas (8-3) and Lewis/Feyer (8-2) won in doubles to clinch the match. 13th WHS will play at #3 Raleigh Charter next week.

Meanwhile, Lewis will compete in the East regional singles tournament at Greene Central this weekend, while Roberson/Thomas and Katherine Pollock/Addison Gibbs will compete in doubles.

Soccer: The Pam Pack boys, 15-4, 9-1, are tied with Greene Central for the EPC lead with two games left in the regular season. The Pack claimed a share of the conference title with a dramatic, 1-0, victory at Greene Central Monday night. Senior Luke Brown scored the winning goal with under two minutes left.

“We were the underdog with nothing to lose and I think that helped a little,” coach Jim Kozuch said. “We’ve had three close games in a row and haven’t given up a goal, so our defense has been outstanding. It’s nice to get part of a conference title after they won it last year.”

Brown and freshman David Barrera scored the goals in Wednesday’s 2-0 win at North Pitt. The Pack host SouthWest Edgecombe on Senior Night Monday, then end the regular season at Ayden-Grifton Wednesday.

Southside (14-4, 1-1) beat East Carteret, 5-2, Monday and host Lejeune on Senior Night Monday to wrap up the regular season. Gabe Matthews leads the Seahawks with 22 goals and 17 assists. Kenny Avila has 19 goals and 11 assists, while Jonatan Perez has 15 goals and eight assists.

Golf: Washington’s Lilly Davis became the first in program history to qualify for the East regional four straight years. She finished in a five-way tie for 28th.