The Raiders:
Coach: Brian Bell (2nd season, 11-9)
Last season: 11-9
Last 5 seasons: 35-50-4
Last 10 seasons: 82-96-8
By Mike London
Salisbury Post
LANDIS — Forty-two girls came out for soccer at South Rowan.
“That’s a good problem to have,” South head coach Brian Bell said. “We had to cut quite a few girls that would have made the team in previous years. We planned to keep 18, but we wound up keeping 24.”
Soccer obviously is looking up at South, which has won one playoff match in the history of the program.
Girls soccer traditionally has not been one of Rowan County’s more successful sports at the state level. No Rowan girls team ever has won a state title. There have been 31 playoff victories by Rowan schools, with 23 of those credited to Salisbury.
“But I think we’ve got a really good thing going at South right now,” Bell said. “The numbers speak volumes, and we’ve had a lot of girls participating in optional workouts since Labor Day. They just kept showing up. The level of play in Rowan County is going to go up this year, and I think there are going to be a lot of exciting matches in the South Piedmont Conference.”
With the NCHSAA realignment and the move to eight classifications, the SPC is now a 4A/5A league instead of a 3A league. Salisbury, a very solid 2A soccer program for a long time, moves in to the SPC. Central Cabarrus and perennial bully Lake Norman Charter moved out.
“With Lake Norman Charter no longer in our league that gives us an opportunity,” Bell said. “It means we have an opportunity to compete for a championship. Northwest Cabarrus is going to very tough. I’ve seen enough of Robinson to know they have elevated their play under a new coach. Salisbury is always good. But I think we are in a position to contend. I’m excited and our team is excited.”
The South team was the subject of a Facebook feature by the Rowan-Salisbury Schools. They ask athletic teams for that one word that best describes them. South chose “willing.”
“As in willing to play wherever the team needs me the most and willing to play a position where I may not be scoring goals,” Bell explained. “I think all the girls have bought into that idea. I think they all would tell you that winning means more than scoring a goal.”
South had a disappointment early in the season. The Raiders were confident they could start with a bang by winning the annual Rowan Cup Tournament, but instead Mother Nature won that one. Dismal weather forced the cancellation of the tournament after the first-round games. South had a first-round bye.
So South eased into this season with two breezy walks in the park — 9-0 against Thomasville and 9-0 against North Meck. But those romps didn’t answer many questions.
“We lost three starters from last season,” Bell said. “So we’ve still got a few things to figure out. We don’t know 100 percent yet who fits best in what role.”
South returns Margo Maples, the SPC and Rowan County Goalkeeper of the Year. She’ll once again provide a formidable last line of defense, but the Raiders don’t plan to give up a lot of shots.
South has two of the county’s top players in senior Cailynn Withers and sophomore Avery Rawlings. Both will probably be stationed in the midfield most of the time, although Rawlings can play a lot of places and may be switched to center back, depending on the matchup.
“It’s a luxury when we are able to put those two out there side-by-side in the midfield,” Bell said. “Cailynn has a lot of experience and scored five goals in our first two games. Avery is a tremendous player. She makes us go.”
Rawlings had two goals and three assists in the early matches.
South has 11 freshmen on the roster. One of them, Anabelle Chavis, scored six goals in the first two matches. Those matches were against easier opponents than anyone South will see in the SPC, but that’s still an impressive debut.
Some other experienced girls to watch will be juniors Brooke Oehler and Peyton Bell, the coach’s daughter, and seniors Ella Morgan and Sophie Steedley.
“I’ve coached some of these girls since they were in sixth grade,” Bell said. “We’ve got some depth in the program now, so we won’t have to ask girls to play 80 minutes very often. Everyone can go as hard as they can when they’re on the field. We have a realistic chance to do special things.”
Bell guided the Raiders to an 11-9 season in 2025, with a 9-7 SPC record.
That was South’s best record since Kyle Neal coached a 17-7 team in 2018. South was off to a 5-0 start in 2020 when that season was shut down by COVID.
South will return from the break to take on Salisbury (4-0) on March 17. That will be a big one for both teams.
