Providence girls soccer upsets Grimsley, reaches 4A quarterfinals

Providence High girls soccer coach Tim Long said he didn’t talk to his team much about Greensboro Grimsley before his team played in Greensboro in the third round of the N.C. 4A playoffs Thursday.

He didn’t talk about Grimsley’s No. 7 state ranking or the fact that it had lost only once all season, or that Grimsley had won 12 straight matches.

“We just concentrated on ourselves,” Long said.

After falling behind 1-0 early, Providence got first half goals from Logan Vitale and Amelia Melching and made them stand up in the second half with a stellar defensive performance.

Now, Providence (17-4-1) gets a third matchup with Southwestern 4A conference No. 1 seed Ardrey Kell (18-2-1) Saturday in the N.C. 4A quarterfinals.

Ardrey Kell won 2-1 earlier this season, scoring twice in the final seven minutes, Long said. In the second meeting, Ardrey Kell scored in the waning minutes of overtime to win 1-0.

“The girls are really excited,” Long said. “We like our chances.”