GREENSBORO – What began as an attempt to build a soccer culture instead became the song that defined a soccer team.
You’ll Never Walk Alone is an old show tune, first heard in the 1945 musical Carousel. It’s now better known, especially, in the soccer world, as the anthem of Liverpool F.C. and its supporters, belted at full volume before the start of every home match.
When George Alley took over as Polk County’s head soccer coach in 2023, he decided to teach his Wolverines that tune, inspired by a dear friend and his own fandom.
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“My friend Iain Fitch, for years, he screams it out at games,” Alley said. “I’ve always been a Liverpool fan, and it’s their song before the game. I wanted to create a culture of team first and brotherhood. It was a good pregame song and a chant that I think, with repeated use, got them to do that.”
In the wake of Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Wallace-Rose Hill in the state 3A final, Polk players referenced that song as well as the closeness that became a trademark of this squad. Much of that had to do with 12 seniors, many of whom first played together in Polk County recreation leagues and had been teammates since.
“We’ve played together since we were little. Will and I have been together since we were five years old,” said Polk senior Thomas Varnadore, one of three team captains who met with media members following the match. “This fellowship, it has really meant a lot.
“Never Walk Alone is something that we do, and then we’ll carry it from soccer into our lives. Whenever I need something, I can call one of my boys.”
“I’ll never forget this team, that’s for sure,” chimed in senior Will Garrison. “It’s just been amazing.”
As Saturday’s match progressed, Alley noticed that the tight bonds between team members stayed true.
“We really did have a good team culture and the camaraderie was always there,” he said. “Team before self is what we’ve always preached, and these guys did that. It’s not easy to do, particularly in the heat of the moment and tough games. It’s difficult to keep that up.
“I thought the boys did that today. They didn’t get on each other, they stayed tough, even though we were under a lot of pressure for most of the game.”
FROM THE STAT SHEET: Without doubt Wallace-Rose Hill had the better first half, and the match statistics reflected that.
The Bulldogs outshot the Wolverines 11-3 in the first half, also producing four corner kicks to none for Polk County. That the match remained scoreless at intermission offered testament to the quality of play from Polk’s defense and goalkeeper Charlie Wagoner.
Wagoner finished with eight saves, six of those in the first half. His two second-half saves including a sterling dive to his left to deflect a shot from Wallace-Rose Hill standout Felix Funez.
WRH finished with 17 shots to Polk County’s eight and six corners to the Wolverines’ four. Bulldog goalkeeper Angel Sevilla was credited with two saves.
Wallace-Rose Hill possessed the ball 55 percent of the match to Polk County’s 45 percent. Neither team was whistled for offsides nor received a yellow card during the match.
LOOKING BACK: During Saturday’s post-match press conference, Alley was asked to reflect on highlights of the 2025 season.
“Beating Asheville at home was a big day for us, and then beating Patton (in the state quarterfinals), I would say those were two of the signature moments for us,” he said. “We scheduled several 5A and 6A teams, so being able to compete at that level gave us a lot of confidence.”
Polk finished its season at 18-1-3, those three draws coming against North Henderson, Patton and Owen. The Wolverines had a streak of four straight matches with a shutout, topping Madison, Avery, Hendersonville and West Wilkes, and finished the season with 96 goals scored and just 18 allowed.
LOOKING FORWARD: Polk County will say goodbye to its 12 seniors from this year’s state runners-up.
That list includes Nate Harms, Jonathan Aguirre, Sebastian Azar, Varnadore, Wyatt Highsmith, Mason Hudson, Tanner Osborn, Blake Anderson, Cooper Meyer, Brinson Ashworth, David Alvarez and Garrison.
The group returning next season will include Wagoner as well as Tallis Metcalf, one of the team’s three captains this season. Also back will be a core group that each took part in Saturday’s match – Ross Dow, Brennan Oates, Luke Garrison, Matt Jarrett, Erik Pena and Grayson Meyer.
SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD: Before the match, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association handed out sportsmanship awards to one player from each team.
Garrison received the honor for Polk County, with Junior Ayestas honored for Wallace-Rose Hill.
