How unselfish play guided Brevard into second round of NCHSAA 2A girls soccer playoffs

BREVARD — Freshman forward Charley Goodwin and sophomore forward Nora Felty have recorded 54 of Brevard's 84 goals this season.

But it was a team effort for No. 12 Brevard in an 11-2 win over No. 21 R-S Central (5-8-2) in the first round of the NCHSAA 2A playoffs on Monday at home. The duo scored four goals total, and four players accounted for the other goals.

Brevard (18-2-2) advances to the second round for the first time since 2022. It will face No. 5 Madison (16-1-2), which won 3-0 against No. 28 Randleman (4-11-1).

Blue Devils coach Craig Long said the key to so many players finding the back of the net was unselfishness. They totaled six goals before halftime, each score being set up by another player.

"Playing unselfish, and not worrying about who gets the goals and stuff," Long said. "Just played as a team. This is a good group of girls."

Goodwin and senior midfielder Lily Rogers each recorded a hat trick; senior midfielder Meleah Foster scored two; and Felty, senior midfielder Julia Trowbridge and freshman forward Rebecca Harris each adding one.

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The best example of Brevard's teamwork came on a corner kick in the 45th minute. Felty lobbed a corner straight to the 6-foot-1 Foster, who headed the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

Sometimes it can be difficult to get high school players to buy into playing as a team when everyone wants to put up great statistics and get recruited. Long said he has been fortunate to have a team that is close-knit.

"I think being a 2A school like this," Long said. "They are a little bit closer. We talk about all the time being a team."

"It's nice to know that we have a variety of people able to score," Felty said. "We don't have to rely on one person."

Goodwin said they entered the matchup with R-S Central with a good mindset, and Long told the team to treat the playoffs like it's a new season.

"Everything just clicked tonight," he said. "We told them it's a new season. Come out and play like it was the first week because you know how it is. They come out that first week, they play excited."

Zachary Huber is a high school sports reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times and Hendersonville Times-News. Email him at zhuber@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @zacharyahuber. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times and Times-News.