RALEIGH– Senior forward Jodi Barber had two unassisted goals to cap a spectacular season and lift Jacksonville White Oak to a 2-1 victory over defending champion Charlotte Catholic on Saturday afternoon for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 3-A women’s soccer championship at Dail Soccer Field.

Barber was named the championship Most Valuable Player and finished the season with 59 goals. Her 59 goals in a season puts Barber 12th on the NCHSAA all-time scoring list.

White Oak got off to a very quick start and Barber put the Lady Vikings on the board in the seventh minute with an unassisted goal for a 1-0 lead, which was the halftime score. Catholic managed only one shot on goal in the first 40 minutes as White Oak had the better of play.

Then Barber found the back of the net again in the 70th minute to put White Oak in front 2-0.

But Catholic came storming back just a minute later when junior forward Jane Cline tallied to make it 2-1, scoring her 41st goal of the season. White Oak, however,  kept the Cougars at bay the rest of the way. 

White Oak had six shots on goal to four for Catholic, and both teams had just a single corner kick. White Oak sophomore goalie Alexis Jones was credited with four saves.

Charlotte Catholic was in the finals for the seventh time, and the Cougars had previously earned NCHSAA state titles in 2002, ’03 and last year. Catholic has been to the state playoffs 21 straight years and ended the season 25-2-1, with its only other loss to Cardinal Gibbons.

White Oak was also making its seventh championship appearance and is now 6-1 in finals. The Lady Vikings’ other NCHSAA crowns came in 2003 and four straight from 2006 through ’09. White Oak finished the year 23-2-2.

The Raleigh Sports Consortium serves as the primary host city partner for the women’s soccer championship, along with the Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

STATE 3-A WOMEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP

Dail Soccer Field, N.C. State University

Jacksonville White Oak 1 1 — 2

Charlotte Catholic 0 1 — 1

SCORING

7th minute WO–Jodi Barber

70th minute WO–Jodi Barber

71st minute CC–Jane Cline