Cedar Ridge senior Erik Galunas had the look of a goalkeeper who earned his first clean sheet of the 2025 men’s soccer season by the end of Tuesday night. He was damp, muddied and sweaty just minutes into the Red Wolves season-opener against Southern Alamance at Red Wolves Stadium on Monday night. In the end, it was worth it. Galunas made two huge stops from point-blank range in the opening 20 minutes to keep things scoreless at halftime. Cedar Ridge’s Andy Tarija scored on a penalty kick after Aaron Morales was fouled in the right wing of the penalty area midway through the second half. Tarija blasted a quality penalty into the upper-left corner for his sixth career goal. It was the first win for new Cedar Ridge head coach Emiliano Chirigliano, who replaced Chauncey Brummell. In June, Brummell accepted the head coaching job at Southeast Alamance. It was a promising start for a Cedar Ridge team that struggled out of the gates in 2024 following the loss of a key player, who transferred to Western Alamance days after showing up to Cedar Ridge’s tryouts. Playing in the new Big 7 Conference, the Red Wolves are ready to make a fresh start. Cedar Ridge will take the rest of the week to dry off after playing inside a soaked Red Wolves Stadium on Tuesday. Next Monday, they travel to Northern Durham.
