SOCCER
Despite being victorious in the final four games of the season, the Northwood boys’ soccer team narrowly missed the playoffs this season. The Chargers finished 2018 with a record of 8-11-2. The Chargers finished fourth in conference play with a record of 8-5, claiming multiple victories over rivals Orange, Hillside and Southern Durham.
Senior John Perez is proud of the way the season went.
“I think the soccer season went great,” Perez said. “I thought we worked really hard, and we got to a point where everyone was benefitting from being on the team.”
Senior Noah Oyan was disappointed the team missed out on the playoffs in his final year at Northwood.
“It’s really upsetting, because there are a lot teams in the playoffs that we beat and have a worse record than us,” Oyan said. “It’s really confusing to me.”
FOOTBALL
This season, the Northwood football team fell short of the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. Despite achieving a 3-1 record in the first four games in the season, the Chargers finished with a 4-6 record, going 1-4 in conference. The Chargers were victorious against Asheboro, Western Harnett, East Chapel Hill and Chatham County rival, Jordan-Matthews.
Coach Brian Harrington thought the season could have gone better than it did.
“It was disappointing,” Harrington said. “But I’m proud of the effort the kids gave.”
Harrington also noted some of the team’s struggles were as a result of a massive number of injuries.
“It affected us extremely,” Harrington said. “We didn’t have a lot of depth. Our starters were very good and we had some key reserve players, but as a whole, we weren’t very deep so it took its toll when certain guys got hurt.”
VOLLEYBALL
The Northwood High School volleyball team finished this season with a 19-7 overall record and a 10-4 conference record. Their efforts in conference play earned them 3rd place in the Big 8, and their overall record sprung them into the playoffs as the #20 seed in the bracket. The season was highlighted by the team’s two impressive playoff upsets: a 3-1 victory against the #13 seed Lee County and a 3-0 sweep of the #4 seed Union Pines. The Chargers ran out of magic in the third round after a 3-1 defeat against #5 seed Southern Alamance.
Senior Cera Powell is satisfied with the team’s outcome this season.
“I think we did really well,” Powell said. “Every year that I’ve been here, we’ve kept improving. This year, we made it to the third round of the playoffs, which we have never done before, so that’s good.”
— By Jeffrey Marcin
