The third time was indeed the charm — but then again so were the first two times.

Christ the King is a state champion in girls soccer for the third straight year, taking home the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A girls soccer state championship, hosted for the first time at the Mecklenburg County SportsPlex in Matthews, by a 5-0 score on Saturday.

In all three of those years, Christ the King (19-3), this year’s 12th seed in the West, has defeated Woods Charter (22-5-1), this year’s second seed in the East.

It’s the first time in NCHSAA girls soccer history one team has beaten the other in three straight state finals.

Addison Angela Peirce set the tone for Christ the King with a first-half hat trick. Peirce scored the first one with an unassisted shot to the left corner of the goal in the sixth minute. Less than four minutes later, Brianna Pacholski assisted Peirce with her second goal.

The last goal of the half for Peirce came in the 17th minute and the Crusaders led 3-0 at halftime.

Peirce, a freshman for Christ the King, added a fourth goal in the 57th minute to give the Crusaders a 4-0 lead.

Christ the King scored another goal in the 66th minute when Pacholski drilled a shot from 15 yards away to give the Crusaders a 5-0 lead. Pacholski was named the most valuable player of the state championship.

Before the game, each team honored one player as its NCHSAA sportsmanship award winner. For Christ the King, it was Gabbie Feaster. For Woods Charter, it was Wesley Oliver.

Source: highschoolot.com