Is it the offense or defense that carries the Asheville High field hockey team?  “It's pretty much both,” coach Lauren Kaye says, laughing after she answers the debatable question.  Given the time of year, that may have been the politically correct response. But the question is indeed a tough one to answer.

The Cougars (21-1) have been breaking records left and right this season. They've scored a school record 124 goals and allowed only six in 22 games.

Senior Elizabeth Keil has set a school record with 28 goals, while senior Mallory Silver has a school record 26 assists. Defensively, junior goalie Gabi Harte has 17 shutouts, which is also a school record.

“We've had really good teams in the past,” Silver said. “But I think this year we're just a lot better than we've ever been before. We really work on finishing the ball and putting it the back of the net. We have a lot of good forwards, and we're pretty deep in our offense so we can switch out all the time and have a lot of power throughout the game.”

The Asheville players usually come to Kaye with little or no experience since there is not a program at the middle school level. She says this is one of her youngest teams but also probably the most athletic team she's had in 11 seasons guiding the program.

“From our first game to our last game, every time they step out on the field, they're learning something new in practice,” Kaye said. “And they take it out on the field, and they execute it perfectly.”

Chapel Hill has been one of the Cougars' nemeses in recent years. Chapel Hill beat Asheville earlier this year and in last year's state championship match.

The Cougars are close to playing for a state championship again. But Chapel Hill is in the way. The schools will meet in the state semifinals on Friday at Catawba College.

“It's really exciting and awesome,” Kelly Olesiuk said of playing Chapel Hill again. “I'm kind of nervous. But I think that if we play our hardest we can do really well. We've made a lot of progress. In the first game of the season, we lost to them in flicks. But since then, we've worked really hard. And hopefully, all of our hard work will pay off on Friday.”