Roswell senior Natalie Brooks comes up big one last time for the Hornets en route to the 5A state title. Roswell was the team everyone expected them to be this season. The 2024 season had ended on a sour note for the Hornets with a 4-3 loss to Marist in the state finals.
This season, however, was clearly Roswell’s revenge tour. The team went 21-0, outscoring their opponents 70-6. They allowed no more than one goal in a game and recorded shutouts in 15 out 21 matches. The finals played out exactly as you’d expect after a season defined by dominant defense.
The Hornets faced off against Northgate in the state championship. The game was scoreless until just 17:53 remained, when Brooks found the back of the net for the game-winning goal. A Clemson commit, Brooks has been with the Hornets through the highs of two state championships and the crushing low of narrowly missing a repeat. But ended her career with a story book ending putting the exclamation on the team’s second championship.
As she heads to Clemson, the team will look to continue its dominance into next season. However, they’ll now be competing in what may be the toughest classification in the state. The Hornets will once again have to contend with power programs like Pope, Lassiter, Greenbrier, Northgate, and McIntosh, each eager to claim the revenge Roswell achieved this year.
These programs aren’t used to losing. Combined, they have won 19 state titles in the sport’s 34 years of existence, an average of two championships in every three seasons. None of them have lifted the trophy since 2022, meaning they’ll all be hungry for a championship. And they’ll have their sights set squarely on the defending champions. Roswell will be ready though with a team that will once again be one of the most talented and skilled teams in the state.
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