I'm not convinced the voters got it right when they voted Asheville Roberson No. 1 in the nation in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, which was released Tuesday.
Having said that, the Rams are still REALLY good.
They had enough offensive punch to fend off a valiant effort by Lake Norman (24-2-1) in Wednesday night's 3A West Regional final. Roberson (28-0) won 2-1 and advances to play for the state championship Saturday.
Rams keeper Rachel Jennings made eight saves, and Roberson had nine for the game.
Lake Norman keeper Mollie Zimmer stopped three shots. The first goal she allowed wasn't really her fault. Marrisa McCord's shot off a Roberson throw-in was unchallenged. She had a clean look and buried it for a 1-0 lead with 10 minutes, 30 seconds left before halftime.
"There were a couple of defensive errors," Lake Norman coach Jon Mertes said, "and you can't do that when you're trying to get to the title game."
Mertes was hard-pressed to find many flaws in his team's execution and effort, though, and rightfully so.
The Wildcats played probably the best 30 minutes of the season in the second half. Of course, that was after they fell behind 2-0 to the Rams, who have now outscored their opponents 137-3 in 2008.
And so, Lake Norman will have to settle for making the state semifinals for the first time in program history.
"It's very sad that we didn't make it to the final," senior Caroline Moffett said. "But we had a great season. It's the farthest we've ever gotten (in the playoffs). Bittersweet, I guess."
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