Yet that was the peculiar circumstance confronting Green Hope coach Andrew Chadwick as his Falcons faced the Durham Jordan Falcons. Although Jordan was the defending 4A state champion, Green Hope defeated Jordan 5-0 early in the season.

But the rematch in the playoffs turned out to be just as decisive as the regular-season game as Green Hope scored two quick goals en route to a 5-2 victory over Jordan Tuesday night at Green Hope's pitch.

Adding to Chadwick's concern was Green Hope's lack of defender Evan Krause, a talented sophomore who already accepted a North Carolina scholarship offer with a verbal commitment.

He will sit out for the remainder of the season with an ankle injury suffered in the second round.

"Durham Jordan is one of the top programs in the area for high school soccer, and we know they're always dangerous and they can come from behind," said Ryan Thompson, who contributed a goal and two assists. "We knew once we got up early we had to keep going and make sure we didn't let our guard down. You can't get overconfident with Durham Jordan."

Green Hope scored its first goal less than four minutes into the match when senior Fraser Murphy found the net on an assist from Thompson, a junior midfielder.

A little more than two minutes later Green Hope led 2-0 when Thompson converted a penalty kick goal.

"We knew we had to come out strong and score fast," said Tyler Carroll, who had a goal and an assist. "Without Evan, we had to make some changes in the back and we wanted to score before we gave up a goal."

Jordan finally tallied its first goal in two matches against Green Hope in the 14th minute. Danny Potts headed the ball into the net after a shot hit the cross bar, bounced down to the turf and back up directly in front of Potts for an easy tap-in.

Green Hope went up 3-1 by halftime when Carroll, a senior midfielder, scored with an assist from Thompson.

But this time Jordan kept the game close before Green Hope pulled away late in the second half. Bryan Roque trimmed the deficit to 3-2 with a goal less than five minutes into the second half.

Green Hope bumped the lead to 4-2 when senior forward Drew Altman scored on an assist from Carroll in the 54th minute.

Senior midfielder Rodrigo Ortiz made it 5-2 on a breakaway goal with an assist from senior forward Morgan Stevenson in the 60th minute.