The Warriors dug themselves out of deep first-half scoring deficit before winning second state championship in past four years; in doing so, they also avenged their only 2024 regular-season defeat, by beating Asheboro 4-3
By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Noah Barrett scored three goals as Western Alamance pulled out a dramatic victory to win the Class 3-A boys’ soccer state championship.
Barrett’s final goal came a couple of minutes into the first of two overtime periods, lifting the Warriors past Asheboro 4-3 to conclude a remarkable comeback Saturday night at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews.
The Warriors trailed 3-0 at halftime before putting together a rally that resulted in the team’s second state title in four seasons under coach Camden Brooks, a Western alum. Barrett, who was a freshman on that first championship team, was named the Most Valuable Player of the latest final.
The Warriors (25-1) avenged their only loss of the season from an August non-conference game at Asheboro. The Blue Comets finished 27-3 after appearing in a state final for the first time.
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Asheboro’s Cam Letterlough, Ozmar Martinez, and Diego Bustamante scored in a 20-minute span in the first half.
Then it was Western’s turn, beginning with a strike from Barrett just 40 seconds into the second half.
Grant Bacchus pulled the Warriors within 3-2. The Blue Comets thwarted several Western charges in the offensive end to cling to the lead.
But Barrett’s second goal of the game tied the score at 3-3 with about two minutes left in regulation.
Other state championships were won by Clinton (defeating Southwestern Randolph in Class 2-A on Friday night), Mt. Airy (defeating Hobbton in Class 1-A on Saturday) and Wakefield (topping Marvin Ridge in Class 4-A on Saturday).
