I've got two matchups between East Wake and Knightdale women worth keeping an eye on.
1) Women's varsity softball: Last year fans witnessed some hard hitting between the Lady Knights and Lady Warriors. And with no one to blame, there was heat from the bleachers too - from that angle a battle of daughters. The teams split the regular season on a pair of close games that resulted in close calls, and yeah, you guess it - upset parents. Umps and refs really have to be careful not to doze-off out there on the diamond. East Wake may have played late in the conference tourney and was the team that made it to Greenville for the state playoffs, but Knightdale only graduated one senior from the team last year, meaning they'll be ready to step it up to at least an extra year of experience across the board.
2) Women's varsity soccer: This is a cute one. You've got the power and the age working for the Warriors, plus the AD factor, and I don't mean athletic director. I'm talking about the big boot from Amanda Dean. But speaking of AD's, athletic director Jon Hasbrouck, also the coach for the team, is starting to settle-in in his second year on board with the school. A man who spent a college career running the field has got to have a pretty good idea of what needs to be done to get things to click. Knightdale on the other hand mirrors its softball team. The group only lost one senior last year and has no seniors this year, but does pack some young-talent punch. Take sophomore Kaitlyn Eckert for example - the girl who scored 20-plus goals as a freshman, making the board of leading scorers in the state over her first season as a Knight. Add Brooke Foil, Eckert's partner in crime, and someone's liable to get robbed of a win. Coach Jeff Deal said it's those breakaway goals that make his team such a threat, and frankly I believe him. I saw the young Knights take on eventual state champ Leesville in the opening round of the state tourney last year, and believe me, the 3-0 loss wasn't a blowout. At least that's the expressions on the Leesville coaches' faces indicated when they were only up two with a few minutes left to play.
The beauty of it all is these are high school sports and anything can happen. It makes it that much more enjoyable knowing heading into a game it should be a close one. These teams will meet in a few weeks and this is at least what I'm going to assume as I arrive to check out the games.
