North Meck Soccer

North Meck Soccer

North Meck, why would anyone in north Mecklenburg/Cabarrus county/Lake Norman want to play anywhere else? It seems that NMSC has a stranglehold on quality soccer in the north part of metro Charlotte. It also appears that they are on an upward swing while other clubs like LNSC and FC appear to be falling apart. The Charlotte-area Southwestern 4A and I-Meck (formerly ME-CA 7 4A) conferences represent two of the toughest and deepest leagues in the state. Since 2000, teams from these conferences have been in every state semifinal and six out of the eight state finals – Myers Park (2003), East Mecklenburg (2004) and North Mecklenburg (2005, 2006) – and Providence (2000) and Myers Park (2008) won state championships. This year, a key difference is the new I-Meck conference, which is much stronger than the old ME-CA 7 4A.

Traditional soccer powers Lake Norman, No.15 in the Sweet 16 soccer poll, and No.5 Mooresville have joined the conference, and No.7 Vance and Hopewell have started the season impressively. No.11 North Mecklenburg, which has won numerous conference titles over the years, faces a battle to repeat its past success. North Meck coach Paul Kikta predicts the conference champion could lose two or three games. Vance coach David Smith says that all six teams from the group (West Charlotte will not field a team this fall) could make the playoffs. As a measure of the conference's talent, its teams have begun the year with a 10-5-2 record against Southwestern 4A teams. The Southwestern 4A race is more wide open than it was last year, when Myers Park was undefeated. Only three teams have done that in the past – East Meck in 1987 and 2004, and Providence in 1992. The No.2 Mustangs should be one of the favorites, but will get plenty of pressure from No.8 Ardrey Kell, which has more returning starters than any team in the conference, and No.13 South Meck. Those three should also get pressure from No.6 Butler, 5-1-2 so far, and No.14 Providence, which beat North Meck and tied No.3-ranked Catholic.