Christ the King girls soccer wins second straight NCHSAA 1-A state title

Riley Milligan named MVP; Crusaders finish 17-2-3.

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA--Weather may have delayed the NCHSAA 1-A Girls Soccer championship match but it could not deny the Christ the King Crusaders from repeating as champions. 

Christ the King edged Woods Charter 1-0 to take the title back to Huntersville on Sunday at UNC-Greensboro for its second straight state championship.

After a scoreless first half, the Crusaders broke into the scoring column five minutes into the second half. Junior Brianna Pacholski found the back of the net thanks to an assist from senior Elle Gorman.

Senior captain Riley Milligan was named MVP.

Riley Milligan (right) was named MVP of the NCHSAA 1-A girls soccer state championship / NCHSAA photo

While the goal made the difference, the Crusaders' defense made the lead stand up, just as it has all season long. Christ the King allowed just six goals in the 2023 regular season and only three in the NCHSAA 1-A tournament. The win caps the season for the Crusaders at 17-2-3.

Woods Charter also finished as runner-up in 2022 and finished 2023 20-2-3. The Wolves have lost just three matches in the last two seasons, two of them have been to Christ the King in the Championship match.

The NCHSAA is committed to recognizing and promoting good sportsmanship and has partnered with the NC Farm Bureau to honor two student-athletes at each of this year’s championships with Sportsmanship Awards for excellence throughout the season. The 1A Women’s Soccer Sportsmanship Award winners were Lucy Miller from Woods Charter and Kate McMahon from Christ the King.