CARY — The sting of last year’s loss in the girls’ soccer state championship stayed with Green Hope’s returning players throughout the summer.

From their memories of that 2-1 loss to Cornelius Hough – a title game that featured the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams in the country – it’s understandable why they came back for redemption this year.

Alexis Shaffer got an adrenaline rush after her 58th minute PK. But when Hough, which had tied the game in the 69th minute, scored a go-ahead in the 76th, goalkeeper Lisa Armstrong got a sinking feeling.

“It’s over. It’s done. There’s 26 more games until we get here again,” Armstrong said.