South Brunswick girls soccer wins first playoff game in 7 years

After seven years without a postseason win in girls soccer, South Brunswick High School didn’t just return to the playoff win column Thursday, May 14. The Cougars stormed back into it.

Behind a five-goal performance from junior standout Meryn Deutsch, No. 7-seeded South Brunswick rolled past No. 23 Havelock 5-2 on May 14 in the second round of the NCHSAA 5A state playoffs in Boiling Spring Lakes.

Just three years ago, the Cougars finished 6-12. Now, they’re 16-3-1, conference champions and two wins away from the state semifinals. At the center of that transformation has been Deutsch, who pushed her season total to 58 goals Thursday while delivering the program’s first playoff victory since 2019.

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“This was my goal from the beginning of the season,” Deutsch said of her scoring total. “It’s something I’m proud I’ve accomplished. It’s a great feeling.”

Deutsch’s impact stretches well beyond the soccer field. While she's one of the state's top scorers on the soccer field this spring, the multi-sport standout averaged 19.9 points per game during basketball season and has become one of the faces of a growing wave of success in South Brunswick girls athletics.

In recent years, athletes like softball star Kina Davis (Now at North Carolina) and lacrosse standout Morgan Hill (Lander) have helped elevate expectations around the school’s girls programs. Deutsch has become the latest star to continue that trend.

“It’s a feeling that I can’t even describe,” she said. “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Even second-year coach Logan Adkisson still finds himself impressed watching Deutsch take over matches.

“There’s no denying that Meryn could play for just about any team in the state,” Adkisson said.

South Brunswick’s rise has also coincided with a changing landscape. The Cougars went a perfect 8-0 In the split 3A/4A/5A Southeastern Conference this spring, during the school’s first year competing outside the former Mideastern Conference following the NCHSAA’s expansion to eight classifications.

The result has been one of the best seasons in program history. The only comparable run came in 2006, when South Brunswick fell to Cardinal Gibbons in a state title game.

Now, the Cougars are back in unfamiliar territory again, only this time, expectations have changed.

South Brunswick will face the winner of No. 2 Dixon and No. 15 Hunt in the third round on May 18. And for a program that spent years searching for postseason momentum, the Cougars suddenly have the skill and confidence to set up a deep run.

“This team is something that has been overlooked,” Deutsch said. “I think that’s going to change.”

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: South Brunswick girls soccer handles Havelock in NCHSAA playoffs