GREENSBORO – Maggie Messner, a defender from Wheatmore, was on the winning team for the North Carolina East-West Game for girls’ soccer last week.
The West edged the East 1-0 at Jamieson Stadium on the Greensboro Grimsley campus.
The only goal was scored about two minutes into the game by Hough’s Kylee Thompson, who was voted as the game’s Most Valuable Player. Goalkeepers Reese DeJong of Cox Mill and Elizabeth Navola of Christ the King combined to make five saves for the shutout.
The East’s attack kept West defenders busy, particularly with an overwhelming edge in second-half possession time.
Messner was Wheatmore’s first-ever participant in the game.
It was the first time the West defeated the East in girls’ soccer since 2015. That pushed the West into the all-time lead in the series for girls’ soccer with a 12-11-9 record.
The East won the boys’ soccer game by 3-2. Adam Trusky of Chapel Hill was picked as the MVP after posting a goal and an assist.
The game was tied 1-1 at halftime.
Trusky and Greenville Rose’s Finn Peters scored goals in the first five minutes of the second half. Lee County’s Irvin Gutierrez had the East’s first goal.
Charlotte Independence’s Aaron Zhu scored both goals for the West, with his second-half tally coming on a penalty kick in the 71st minute.
In the all-time series, the East leads the West 16-11-5. The West’s last victory came in 2019.
The N.C. State East-West All-Star Games are for recent seniors. Soccer and basketball games are played each summer, while the football showcase has moved to December.
The July games are held in conjunction with the North Carolina Coaches Association’s annual summer clinics in Greensboro.
