After nearly a year, the wait will be over Tuesday for Arendell Parrott soccer.
The Lady Patriots had their season cancelled after just two games in 2020 due to COVID-19 shutting down all athletics, preventing the team an ability to win a second straight state title. On May 18, 2019, APA defeated Carolina Day 2-0 to win the first soccer state title in school history.
The Patriots will host North Raleigh Christian Tuesday, 364 days after the team’s last game — a 3-2 victory over Fayetteville Academy on March 10, 2020. The 2021 version of the team does have quite a bit of resemblance with the title-hoisting team, along with the school’s all-time goal-scorer.
“We’ve got a lot of experience back,” APA coach Shivar Person said. “We still have seven starters from that title game on the field and thankful to have Adelyn (Lowry) back, who adds even more experience. They have more confidence in each other and although we lost some big pieces in the Class of 2020, a lot of the younger players improved in the offseason.”
The Patriots lost four seniors in Annabelle Averette, Megan Blair, Rachel Alexander Lee and Sophia Melk from last year’s team and all play significant roles in the title game.
Lowry, a senior, recorded 68 goals and 28 assists before becoming a freshman. After two seasons of club ball, Lowry came back to APA last season and said she’s ready to provide an impact again for the school.
“I’m really excited — it feels like I haven’t played on this field in a while,” Lowry said. “The season was cut short last year, and I’m excited to help the team. Hopefully, we can win again.”
Senior Alex Melk said the team is focused on repeating.
“It’s really important to us, especially for the people who were on the team two years ago,” Melk said. “We want to finish out strong and do what we were able to back then.”
Melk led the Patriots in scoring during the championship season with 33 goals and 16 assists. Defensively, the team posted seven shutouts, something sophomore goalie Ele Wooten wants to continue.
“I’m just trying to work on my skills, put in the work and keep the mindset from two years ago,” Wooten said.
Person said there will be plenty of challenges this season, but the team is ready.
“It took us three or four years to get over the hump, and now the hardest part is maintaining the success we’ve had,” Person said. “Our goal is to win the conference title and want to win the state championship again. We have a team capable of doing that and the schedule is tough with a lot of strong teams — we’ll be playing several 4A private schools from Raleigh — but it’s a compliment to the girls. Teams want to play us because of the foundation we’ve built as one of the strongest soccer teams in Eastern North Carolina, and we pride ourselves on that.”
The Patriots’ season-opener Tuesday will be at 4 p.m.
The Lady Patriots had their season cancelled after just two games in 2020 due to COVID-19 shutting down all athletics, preventing the team an ability to win a second straight state title. On May 18, 2019, APA defeated Carolina Day 2-0 to win the first soccer state title in school history.
The Patriots will host North Raleigh Christian Tuesday, 364 days after the team’s last game — a 3-2 victory over Fayetteville Academy on March 10, 2020. The 2021 version of the team does have quite a bit of resemblance with the title-hoisting team, along with the school’s all-time goal-scorer.
“We’ve got a lot of experience back,” APA coach Shivar Person said. “We still have seven starters from that title game on the field and thankful to have Adelyn (Lowry) back, who adds even more experience. They have more confidence in each other and although we lost some big pieces in the Class of 2020, a lot of the younger players improved in the offseason.”
The Patriots lost four seniors in Annabelle Averette, Megan Blair, Rachel Alexander Lee and Sophia Melk from last year’s team and all play significant roles in the title game.
Lowry, a senior, recorded 68 goals and 28 assists before becoming a freshman. After two seasons of club ball, Lowry came back to APA last season and said she’s ready to provide an impact again for the school.
“I’m really excited — it feels like I haven’t played on this field in a while,” Lowry said. “The season was cut short last year, and I’m excited to help the team. Hopefully, we can win again.”
Senior Alex Melk said the team is focused on repeating.
“It’s really important to us, especially for the people who were on the team two years ago,” Melk said. “We want to finish out strong and do what we were able to back then.”
Melk led the Patriots in scoring during the championship season with 33 goals and 16 assists. Defensively, the team posted seven shutouts, something sophomore goalie Ele Wooten wants to continue.
“I’m just trying to work on my skills, put in the work and keep the mindset from two years ago,” Wooten said.
Person said there will be plenty of challenges this season, but the team is ready.
“It took us three or four years to get over the hump, and now the hardest part is maintaining the success we’ve had,” Person said. “Our goal is to win the conference title and want to win the state championship again. We have a team capable of doing that and the schedule is tough with a lot of strong teams — we’ll be playing several 4A private schools from Raleigh — but it’s a compliment to the girls. Teams want to play us because of the foundation we’ve built as one of the strongest soccer teams in Eastern North Carolina, and we pride ourselves on that.”
The Patriots’ season-opener Tuesday will be at 4 p.m.
