Hobbton and Union both earned playoff berths in the NCHSAA 1A East bracket, with Hobbton earning a 4 seed and Union getting a 16 seed. Both will open up at home on Monday.
File photo|Sampson Independent
Hobbton, Clinton, Union at home; Lakewood to hit road
Clinton defender Laynie Brock (24) sweeps in to take the ball away and turn back a first half scoring threat in a match earlier this season. The Lady Horses earned a 10 seed in the NCHSAA 2A East.
File photo|Sampson Independent
Yosari Yanes takes the ball upfield for Lakewood. The Lady Leopards eked into the playoffs as a 30 seed and will hit the road to play No. 3-seed Lejeune.
File photo|Sampson Independent
Four Sampson County teams earned playoffs berths in women’s soccer, with Hobbton, Clinton and Union all set to start at home in the first round of NCHSAA playoffs and Lakewood hitting the road after eking into the bracket. The bracket was unveiled Friday and first round matches will kick off Monday.
Clinton
The Clinton Lady Dark Horses earned a No. 10 seed in the 2A East bracket and will host No. 23-seeded North Pitt in Monday’s first round matchup.
The Lady Dark Horses finished the regular season with an overall record of 13-10, including an unblemished 8-0 record in conference en route to winning the Southeastern Athletic Conference crown.
They have outscored opponents 103-46, showing shades of dominance, especially in conference. A five-week span between late March and late April saw the Clinton squad notch a 10-1 record, outscoring opponents 75-6. However, the Lady Horses finished with three non-conference matches in May, dropping all three on the road.
Their first round opponent North Pitt finished the regular season 8-9, including 7-3 in conference.
Monday’s victor will advance to play the winner of the No. 7 East Carteret-No. 26-seed South Lenoir contest.
Hobbton
The Hobbton Lady Wildcats boast the highest seed of any of the local teams, earning a No. 4 seed in the 1A East bracket and will host No. 29-seeded Chatham Charter.
Hobbton finished the 2024 regular season with a record of 17-2, including a perfect 10-0 in the Carolina 1A conference to take the crown. Hobbton is red hot, riding a 15-match winning streak after starting the season 2-2. They have outscored opponents 114-24 on the season.
The Lady Spartans face a Chatham Charter team that gets in with a 3-15 record.
The victor will take on the winner of the match between No. 13 Southside and No. 20 Oxford Prep.
Lakewood
The Lakewood Lady Leopards, which didn’t earn a win in 2024, hits the road as a No. 30 seed to play No. 3-seeded Lejeune.
The Lady Leopards received a No. 30 seed and will hit the road to play a Devil Pups team that went 13-1-1, including 6-1-1 in conference. Lakewood finished the regular season 0-17, including 0-11 in Carolina 1A.
The winner will advance to take on the winner of the matchup between No. 14-seeded River Mill Academy and No. 19-seeded East Columbus.
Union
The Union Lady Spartans will host Vance Charter in the 16-17 first round matchup, which will likely mean the winner has a daunting task if they want to make it past the second round.
The winner of the matchup between top-seeded Voyager Academy and No. 32-seeded Southern Wake Academy awaits the Union-Vance Charter winner.
Union went 11-7 overall, with a 7-4 conference record in the 2024 regular season. Vance Charter was 5-8-2 overall.