From staff reports
Lake Norman’s Jacob Rase headlines this year’s R&L All-County Boys Soccer Team. The junior was named the R&L County Boys Soccer Player of the Year.
Rase anchored the Wildcats’ defense at center back. Lake Norman allowed only 27 goals in 25 games while scoring 70 goals in the process.
“He was the backbone of our team,” Lake Norman coach Matt Bice said.
Rase was an all-state, all-region and all-conference defender for the Wildcats, who claimed their second straight Greater Metro 4A Conference title.
Aided by his ability to limit scoring opportunities, Lake Norman went 18-3-4 overall and 11-1 in the conference. The Wildcats advanced to the third round before losing 1-0 to Myers Park.
Their playoff loss marked the 10th game of the season that the Wildcats yielded just one goal to their opponent. They had eight shutout victories.
People are also reading…
One of the shutouts, a 2-0 win, came in the first meeting with Cox Mill.
Rase got injured in the rematch with Cox Mill, the conference runner-up. He left the game with 12 minutes remaining. The Wildcats were nursing a 2-1 lead. Cox Mill scored twice afterwards and won 3-2. It was Lake Norman’s only conference loss.
“He gave the team confidence just by being on the field,” Bice said of Rase.
The following is the list of players:
All-County Boys Soccer Team
Isaac Bunton, West Iredell
William Bush, North Iredell
Garrett Chase, North Iredell
Tanner Davis, Statesville
Taylor Gregory, West Iredell
Landon Jimenez, South Iredell
Jerick Moreno, North Iredell
Albert Rhyne, West Iredell
Pat Robillard, Lake Norman
Aydan Scharf, Lake Norman
Cody Sherman, Mooresville
Tanner Small, Mooresville
Austin Tinucci, Mooresville
Jacob Whittington, Lake Norman
.