On Friday May 17th, Green Level won the NCHSAA 4A State Championship in overtime, defeating Lake Norman 11-10 in dramatic fashion at Durham County Memorial Stadium. The stadium was packed with fans from both sides filling the stands even in the pouring rain. The Gators came into this game with a record of 22-2 and as the #1 seed in the East region. They had defeated Leesville, Middle Creek, Ashley and Cardinal Gibbons on their way to the State Championship. Lake Norman had a record of 18-6 and were the #2 seed in the West region and had won games against Cutherbertson, Hough, Weddington and Marvin Ridge in the playoffs.
The Gators started the game off hot, taking a commanding 6-2 lead going into halftime with a hot start from Jr. Kelan Moore and Sr. Jackson Spells. Sr. Josh Spells was excellent on the face offs, proving why he is the all-time leader in NC. Green Level continued to hold fast to their lead as they were up 10-6 at the end of the 3rd quarter and it seemed like the Gators had the game wrapped up. Lake Norman would score one more time in the next 10:51 of the game while holding Green Level scoreless. The score was 10-7 and Green Level could taste their championship rings but Lake Norman wouldn’t go down without a fight. The Wildcats scored 3 goals in the last minute of regulation including a full field heave into a diving goal from Hayden Cichon to tie the game up and send it to overtime.
All the momentum was on Lake Norman’s side heading into the 4th quarter. They needed to respond to this late push from the Wildcats. Smith won the OT faceoff and Green Level had possession. Lake Norman then would force a turnover but they failed to score. The Gators would not be denied this time and they would score on a jumping goal from Sr. Austin Hryn with the assist from Sr. Gus Maggio. The crowd erupted and the team rushed the field in celebration. Hryn was rewarded with the player of the game because of his 4 goals including his game-winner. Spells was huge for the Gators too as he had 2 goals and 2 assists. Jr. Harrison Murray and Moore tacked on 2 goals of their own too. This is the 3rd NCHSAA State Championship in Green Level’s history, the other two coming from the volleyball team (2021) and the gymnastics team (2022). This team was special and this senior class will be missed next year. SWAC Coach of the Year, Coach Sopko will be looking to repeat this success next season with a strong class returning.
