Lakewood, with the No. 12 seed in the NCHSAA 1A soccer playoffs, hosted No. 21 seed Wake Prep Academy Saturday for first-round action. A heartbreaking loss came for the Leopards as they fell 4-3 to the visitors, ending their season.
The Leopards took the ball first and moved it towards their own net to set up a long attack down the field. An early throw-in from Cristofer Cortes to Ivan Castaneda didn’t field much, but with Wake Prep kicking it out of bounds, they were awarded a corner kick.
The kick was long, which gave possession back to the Guardians. This set up the first offensive attack of their own, and a corner kick near the 38-minute mark nearly ended with a header goal, but it sailed wide. An offsides penalty was called on them as well, further hindering their chance at Lakewood’s goal.