Men’s soccer: Cedar Ridge 1, Southern Alamance 0:
Soccer is a game of the elements and Cedar Ridge got all of them wrapped up into one in its season-opener.
There was a steady rainstorm hours before kickoff of the Red Wolves game against Southern Alamance. The precipitation gave way to classic North Carolina August humidity during the afternoon, making for the worst of both worlds.
Cedar Ridge won the battle in a back-and-fort affair with a former Central Conference rival.
Andy Tarija scored off a penalty kick in the second half for the game’s only goal as the Red Wolves defeated Southern Alamance at Red Wolves Stadium. Midfielder Aaron Morales drew the foul that led to the penalty when he advanced the ball deep into the right corner of the box and was struck on the leg during an attempted pass.
It was the first win for new Cedar Ridge men’s soccer coach Emiliano Chirigliano, who replaced Chauncey Brummell in July. Brummell is now the head coach at Southeast Alamance.
Senior goalkeeper Eric Galunas earned his first clean sheet. He fended off two point-blank attempts by the Patriots in the first half. The first of which came when Galunas raced to capture a long ball that Patriots forward Karsten Robb was in striking distance from, but the goalkeeper won the race.
Minutes later, Patriots midfielder Mason Parrish found sophomore Colin Lenfert, who deftly dribbled past both Cedar Ridge centerbacks into the six-yard box, leaving him all alone with Galunas. Lenfert’s didn’t finish with his strong foot and tried to loft it past Galunas, who gobbled it up and spoil the Patriots best chance of the night.
Cedar Ridge outshot the Patriots 24-5 overall. Galunas made three saves.
The Red Wolves will travel to Northern Durham on Monday night.
Women’s Golf: The first official sporting event of the 2025-2026 academic year took place at the Preserve Golf Course in Chapel Hill. Orange and Cedar Ridge participated in a women’s golf meet, starting early enough in the day where they wouldn’t be impacted by rain.
The entire field was tested by the course. Only four of 21 scores on the front nine holes finished under 50. Orange junior Gianni Burnette finished with the lowest score among Hillsborough golfers with a 56. Sophomore Grace Dunlap carded a 62. Senior Maria Wilson had a 63. Orange has four newcomers this year: sophomore Madison Edwards, sophomore Ella McCay, senior Hailey Stone and senior Paige Garrard.
Cedar Ridge had two seniors compete. Laci Sykes carded a 60. Victoria Matthews finished with a 61.
