In Monday night’s matchup between the NC Lady Warriors and the Carrollton Lady Trojans, one senior captain approached an impressive milestone. Leading scorer and future collegiate athlete Maddie Diaz stood at 99 career goals before the game began, holding all intentions of reaching triple digits by the time the final horn sounded. With a seven-goal performance in a previous outing against the Campbell Spartans a week prior, friends, family, coaches and teammates ventured out to witness Diaz’s well-deserved achievement. 

“For me, surpassing 100 goals really means that all my hard work paid off. When I decided I wanted to go after this milestone, I knew it was going to be a lot of work and I had a lot of growth to get there. In my junior year, I finished my season with only 31 goals. After junior year, my sister and I dedicated time to training, practicing before and after actual practices, learning new skills, and watching lacrosse videos. When I shot that 100th goal and saw it go in, all I could think about was how all the time I put in paid off and about how proud and happy my sister had to be,” Diaz said.

Within the first five minutes of the first half, Diaz hustled through the Trojan defense on the near sideline, spun off one defender near the 12-yard line, and scored her 100th career goal. As family, friends and fans went wild for the marvelous feat, Diaz celebrated in a dancing fashion as teammates hugged and congratulated her. Posters and even a fathead with the athlete’s face on it waved through the air as the entire Warrior girls lacrosse community watched Diaz add to her illustrious four-year career. 

“Going into the season, I had a few huge goals for myself, one of them being to score my 100th goal. Another goal I plan on finishing by the end of the season is to break the record for most goals scored in a single season. There have been a few times during the season where I wasn’t sure if the goal would be attainable for me, but after my last two games, I fell short of the record by only 5 goals,” Diaz said. 

As the game continued, the Lady Warriors battled back and forth with the Lady Trojans, but ultimately fell by a score of 17-13. Diaz finished the night with eight goals, bringing her season total to 72 scores. Entering Thursday night’s game versus Breman high school, Diaz holds an opportunity to eclipse a new record. The all-time season scoring record for the NC Lady Warrior lacrosse team currently sits at 77, therefore Diaz needs five goals to tie this record and six to claim it as her own. With backing and support from all those involved in the program, Diaz grasps a solid chance at breaking ground and etching her name in Warrior history forever.

“Maddie has been a positive force on the team since her freshman year. She has grown as both a player and a leader in the last four years. All her work in practice and outside of the season has culminated in this amazing milestone,” head coach Kathy Ezzell said. 

Despite the Lady Warriors’ season coming to a final close, Diaz remains focused as she prepares for collegiate lacrosse in the fall. The Kennesaw native signed her National Letter of Intent on April 13 to continue her playing career at Georgetown College in Kentucky. As NC’s class of 2022 quickly approaches graduation, Diaz stands out as a leader and star athlete that underclassmen will remember for years to come.

“I’d like to give a shout-out to my high school coaches, Coach Ezzell and Coach Rachel specifically, for always giving me the green light and allowing me to be a leader on the team. I’d also like to thank my trainer, Corey Bridges, who took my game to the next level and made me an even better athlete than I already was. And last but not least, the biggest shout-out goes to my sister, Bianca Rojas, who was also my coach, personal trainer, assistant, biggest fan, best friend and mentor throughout my whole lacrosse career. She pushed me so hard, always had my back and made me the lacrosse player I am today,” Diaz said.