Lexington girls soccer keeps dream season alive for outgoing coach Chris Fryland
Moments before Tuesday’s playoff match, Lexington High girls soccer coach Chris Fryland sat with his head down and hands folded.
Plenty of thoughts were running through his head. Would this be the last match for the winningest girls soccer coach in South Carolina history? Fryland will be stepping away after the season, so every match in the postseason could be his final one as Lexington coach.
Fryland’s players made sure Tuesday wasn’t the end.
Adriana Dunat’s goal late in the second half lifted the Wildcats to a 2-1 win over rival River Bluff in the Class 5A Division I Lower State semifinals. Lexington will travel Friday to Wando — 2-1 winners over James Island — for the Lower State championship game. The winner plays to the state championship on May 23.
After the match, Fryland again was full of a range of emotions, pointing to fire up the crowd to and fighting back tears in a post-match interview.
“I didn’t want it to be the last game,” Fryland said. “This is a special group of girls. Maybe not the most talented group I have ever had in my 25 to 26 years. But once the lights are on, they go, they play.
“I am going to enjoy it this evening. And then we will start preparing tomorrow. Just an incredible moment right now for me.”
The win was Lexington’s sixth in the last seven matches against the Gators, and it was a nail-biter much like the two previous games this season. The Wildcats won on penalty kicks on March 31 and clinched the region title with a 3-1 win on April 24.
Like the previous match, River Bluff jumped out on top as Belle Bryant scored on a pass from Brooke Ogorek and scored in front of an empty net to make it 1-0 in the 24th minute.
Lexington tied it in the 35th minute when Anna Allen hit a free kick from the 35-yard line to make it 1-1.
“That changed momentum a little bit,” Fryland said of Thomas’ goal.
The match appeared to be headed to overtime until Dunat, the region Player of the Year and Davidson signee, was granted a free kick. The senior said she practiced that sort of kick for hours at a time with Fryland and the rest of the Wildcat coaches.
Dunat composed herself and then calmly drilled the ball on the right side of the goal in the 75th minute to make it 2-1.
“Once I got fouled, I said this was it. I practiced this shot so many times,” Dunat said. “It almost was like muscle memory. I saw one of the defenders shift and that corner opened up. And I said, I can do this.
“Your mind just kind of goes silent and everything kind of goes silent. So I was like, focus on the technique, hit it right, and it will go in.”
The goal was extra special, she said, because it keeps her career going as well as Fryland’s. The coach has teared up before most of the matches late in the season, Dunat said.
“It is absolutely insane to be able to do it for him in his last season. To take him as far as we can. He deserves it,” Dunat said.
River Bluff had a few chances in the final minutes but couldn’t convert. The Gators finished the season at 13-5-3, with three losses coming against Lexington.
“It is always a battle from start to finish,” River Bluff coach KC Dunbaker said of facing Lexington. “I wished we could have knocked one in, but it wasn’t meant for us tonight.”
Girls Playoff Soccer Roundup
Blythewood 2, Wade Hampton 0: The Bengals advance to Class 5A Division I Upper State championship on Friday.
Chapin 7, West Florence 3: The top-seeded Eagles advance in the Class 5A Division II playoffs and will host Lucy Beckham for Lower State title on Friday.
Gray Collegiate 4, Hilton Head 1: The top-seed War Eagles scored three goals in the first half to advance to Friday’s Class 4A Lower State championship
AC Flora 3, Wren 0; and Dreher 3, Daniel 2: The Falcons and Blue Devils each won in the Class 4A playoffs and will meet for the Upper State championship at Flora on Friday.
This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 9:26 PM.
