Manteo scores five goals in second half to beat Wheatmore for NCHSAA 2-A soccer title

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA--The Manteo Redskins were trailing 1-0 at halftime of the NCHSAA 2-A girls soccer state championship game on Saturday at UNC Greensboro to the defending champion Wheatmore Warriors. 

Five second-half goals later, Manteo claimed the program’s first state championship with a 5-3 win.

Manteo tied things up at 1-1 two minutes into the second half and took the lead for good at 3-2 with 14 minutes to play.

Manteo sophomore Kenzie Flynn was named MVP of the game after she found the net twice and assisted on another goal. That performance caps a tremendous year for Flynn, who racked up 42 goals and 20 assists in 2023.

Teammate Kiley Eckard also netted a brace on Saturday and Abbi Calvio scored for the Redskins as well. Lizzie Mantz added an assist.

For the Warriors, junior Ellie Garrison scored twice and assisted Summer Bowman on the other goal.

Wheatmore (24-1) entered the game with a state-record 200 goals scored, led by Garrison's state-record 94 goals this season.

The win capped an undefeated season for Manteo at 25-0-2 and gave Wheatmore its first loss since May of 2021, a streak of 49 straight wins.

The NCHSAA is committed to recognizing and promoting good sportsmanship and has partnered with the NC Farm Bureau to honor two student-athletes at each of this year’s championships with Sportsmanship Awards for excellence throughout the season. The 2A Women’s Soccer Sportsmanship Award winners were Hannah Hogan from Manteo and Mikalah Walls from Wheatmore.