Warhorses bound for the third round

Spencer Woolley nets 4 goals in second half to lift Owen to playoff victory over Thomasville

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 7, 2025

Forty minutes of physically demanding postseason soccer did not yield a single goal, Nov. 6, when No. 6 Owen hosted No. 11 Thomasville in the second round of the NCHSAA 3A State Playoffs, but 4 in the second half, off the foot of senior Spencer Woolley, proved more than enough to lift the home team to victory.

As the Warhorses prevailed, 4-2, in their tournament debut, the match served as an early test for the young squad.

The Bulldogs took a nearly 140-mile trip from the Triad to the mountains of Western N.C., following a 12-4-4 regular season and a 5-0 win over No. 22 Mountain Heritage in the opening round of the postseason. Owen, led by fourth-year head coach Trei Morrison, was playing in its first playoff match, coming out of a first-round bye.

The contest, in which Thomasville was penalized with two red cards and multiple yellow cards, was testy from the start.

Neither team found the net in the in the first half, while the Owen controlled the ball early near midfield, drawing several penalties from Bulldog defenders. Thomasville organized its attack in the latter part of the frame, as freshman Warhorse goalkeeper Cord Griffin deflected a succession of shots.

What the previous 40 minutes offered in displays of defensive fortitude, the second half provided in offensive outbursts.

Owen senior Caden Mobley broke away from defenders early in the frame, assisting Woolley on the first goal of the contest and seizing the lead. Three minutes later, the striker padded the advantage with a penalty kick. The Warhorses maintained the lead for nearly 11 minutes, before an indirect free kick, from around 45 yards out, trickled past the outstretched arms of Griffin. As the match neared the 65th minute, the Bulldogs evened the tally, 2-2, with a penalty kick of their own.

While the opponents battled for position near midfield in the minutes that followed, Woolley found room on the left side, beating a defender and crossing to the front of the net to put his his team back on top. His final goal of the contest marked his 42nd of the season.

Four separate Warhorses — Mobley, Jonah Wilson, Blake Riggs and Boone Ferguson — recorded assists in the victory. Facing an aggressive and skilled opponent to open their playoff run benefits the young Owen team, Woolley said, following the match.

“It was a battle. This team never stopped, and it was a hard-fought game,” he said. “Coming out of halftime, our team worked very hard to pick up the pace, and really respond to this physical team. They never stopped, so they really made us up our game, and I want to give them a big shout out for that.”

While the first half served as an opportunity to adjust to the intensity of postseason soccer, the Warhorses put it together in the second, according to Woolley.

“It’s the second round and a lot of guys on our team are really young, so they haven’t really been exposed to this atmosphere,” said the senior, who was a member of the Owen team that won a state championship in 2022. “We had to get used to how aggressive and tough these guys were from the start, and I think we did a great job adjusting to that.”

Increasing their movement away from the ball was a key adjustment at the half, according to the Owen head coach.

“We had to get it and give it, because they were coming in so hard with the tackles, so we needed to play a little quicker,” Morrison said. “Once we started passing, they had to step off a little, which gave Caden and Lyle (Sulzman) some space to run.”

With the creative midfielders free to move, the Warhorses produced opportunities for their top scorer.

“We told Spencer to run,” Morrison said. “We were looking to get him behind them by playing him a little higher, and have him be a threat. We didn’t think they could handle him in those situations.”

While multiple goal-scoring opportunities came to Woolley throughout the second half, re-claiming the lead after the Bulldogs tied the match marked his personal highlight.

“I thought that goal really helped us move forward, take a step back and calm ourselves, now that we were ahead again,” he said. “I just want to really credit my teammates for the all the work they did to put us in the position to win.”

Owen improved to 13-3-1 this season with the win, the ninth in its last 10 matches.

“These guys have stepped up to every challenge I have presented them since June,” Morrison said. “Starting tonight, we had to have mental toughness and grittiness, and they truly showed that out there.”

The Warhorses will face a new challenge, Monday, Nov. 10, when they travel to Gastonia to face No. 3 Piedmont Community Charter School. While the game time has yet to be announced, the 17-3-2 Patriots will enter the match after defeating No. 14 East Rutherford, 8-0, in their second round matchup.

“At this point in the season, it’s going to be a battle and a grind, so we have to be ready for that, and I think we showed that we are,” Morrison said. “We know how we want to play, because its in our DNA, as a program. That’s what we really put together and figured out in the second half tonight, so we’ll get some rest and get ready to do it all again on Monday.”

Photos of Owen’s second round playoff victory over Thomasville can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.