Purnell Swett girls soccer to host Enloe in state playoffs

PEMBROKE — After winning a share of the United-8 Conference regular-season championship last week, the Purnell Swett girls soccer team learned its first-round state playoff opponent when the North Carolina High School Athletic Association released brackets on Friday.

The Lady Rams earned a No. 7 seed in the 4A East Region, and will host No. 26 Enloe in the first round at 7 p.m. Monday.

Purnell Swett enters the playoffs at 20-1. The Lady Rams shared the conference title with Cape Fear, which will play in the 3A state playoffs; the United-8 Conference Tournament was canceled after persistent inclement weather this week.

Recent playoff appearances for Purnell Swett include berths in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022, but the Rams did not advance past the first round in any of those seasons. This will, however, be the first time that Purnell Swett will host a girls soccer playoff game in Pembroke.

Enloe (11-7-2) finished fourth in the CAP-6 Conference. The Eagles enter the playoffs having lost four of their last five games. Like the Rams, Enloe lost to Holly Springs in the first round in its most recent playoff appearance, last season.

The Purnell Swett-Enloe winner will face the winner of the first-round game between No. 10 Pinecrest and No. 23 Pine Forest. The second round will be played Thursday.

Lumberton was projected as the fifth team out of the 4A playoff field by HighSchoolOT before brackets were released Friday. Red Springs and St. Pauls did not qualify for the 2A field.