East Bladen and Whiteville battled to a tie for the Three Rivers Conference girls soccer championship this season, and the two teams shared all of the conference’s top post-season honors.
Lady Eagle freshman Maya McDonald and Whiteville junior Olivia Smith were named Co-Players of the Year in the league, and East Bladen Coach Jay Raynor and Lady Wolfpack Coach Ronnie Todd were named Co-Coaches of the Year in the Three Rivers.
Whiteville and East Bladen both placed five players on the All-TRC squad and both teams had six players receive honorable mention.
Joining McDonald on the All-Conference team from East Bladen were senior Ashley Hardin, junior Sydney Wober and sophmores Katie Evans and Kenia Medina.
West Bladen junior Alyssa Smith and sophmore Josefina Taboada were also named All-TRC.
“Maya had an outstanding season,” said Coach Raynor. “She is a dynamic player who has the ability to takeover the game. We thrived off of her attacking mindset and her ablility to run at girls. Her desire to compete makes her special. She pushes herself and wants to not only play but dominate.”
McDonald fired in a whopping 37 goals, dished out 14 assists and averaged 15 steals per game.
“Some of her goals were unbelievable and showed composure that you normally see with older players,” continued Raynor. “What makes Maya special besides her athletic ability is who she is as a person and as a teammate.”
Raynor led the Lady Eagles to a 13-1 league record and 17-2 overall mark. East Bladen reached the second round of the NCHSAA Class 2A state playoffs before being eliminated by Wheatmore 2-1.
Hardin keyed the East Bladen attack with a team-high 24 assists, 15 goals and a whopping 33 steals per game. Evans dished out 20 assists, scored 5 goals and averaged 22 steals per game.
Wober fired in 27 goals, was credited with 18 assists and racked up 12 steals per game. Medina was a stalwart defender with 17 steals per game and also tallied 10 goals and 8 assists.
Smith posted 4 wins in goal for West Bladen that included 2 shutouts. Taboada knocked in 4 goals and added 2 assists.
Receiving honorable mention for East Bladen were: junior Cybil Campbell (17 steals per game), senior Ashton Magby (7 steals per game), junior Gracyn Martin (17 steals per game), senior Sarah Johnson (14 steals per game), junior Patience Ward (15 steals per game and totaled 10 goals and 11 assists) and senior Ting Lin (17-1 in goal and 13 shutouts).
West Bladen players receiving honorable mention were: senior Hannah Arnett (4 goals and an assist), freshman Haley George (4 goals and 2 assists) and senior Winter Graham (a goal and an assist).
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