Photo by Kim Petrides
There’s no use in thinking about yesterday for Orange men’s soccer coach Palmer Bowman.
He just wants to think about the present and the future, which appears promising enough for his team.
On Wednesday night, Orange used a strong defensive effort to defeat Carrboro 2-1 in Hillsborough in a battle for first place in the Big 7 Conference. The Panthers are 7-1 in league play and have swept the season series from the Jaguars.
Jesse Petrides score the game-winning goal off his left foot in the first half as the Panthers improved to 13-5 overall. It was his second goal of the season.
Senior Carson Condon, who played centerback in the first meeting with the Jaguars last month, scored the opening goal in the third minute. It was Condon’s seventh goal.
Carrboro (9-8-1, 7-2) got an equalizer minutes later.
“We challenged the guys to come out strong,” Bowman said. “We haven’t come out and scored right away. Carson stepped up. Carson was the player of the game in my opinion.”
Orange junior goalkeeper Hector Garrido made his second save of a penalty kick this season to earn his 13th win of the year. Garrdio finished with six saves on the night.
Orange Captain Dallas Johnson, usually a midfielder, was moved to centerback against the Jaguars. Johnson and fellow senior Logan Edwards paired along the back line, along with wingbacks Jay Parker and Brennan McDonald as Orange preserved its lead during a scoreless second half.
“Our defense stepped up,” Bowman said. “We trusted Dallas to hold down centerback since he’s a senior Captain. He and Logan held it down. We had complete trust in them and they did a great job.”
The school record for most wins in a season was set by the 2024 team, which amassed 16 wins during a campaign where the Panthers hosted a state playoff game for the first time in school history.
Bowman was pleased with Orange’s 2-1 win at Carrboro on September 22, where the Panthers won inside Jaguars Stadium for the first time behind goals from Ajali Carter and John Gomez, who scored the game-winner.
The response in the following game two days later was not what Bowman was looking for. South Granville scored the first three goals in Hillsborough. Orange had to rally with six goals in the final 35 minutes to win 6-3.
“After we played Carrboro the first time, we came out flat to South Granville,” Bowman said. “We know we have a lot in front of us and we’re going to take it one step at a time.”
The Panthers (13-5) have never won a conference championship in soccer in the 38-year history of the program, which started with the original four-year class at Orange back in 1987.
Orange will travel to South Granville on Monday.
Cedar Ridge 1, Seaforth 1: In its first conference trip to Hawks Stadium in Pittsboro, Cedar Ridge came away with a 1-1 tie against the Hawks last Monday. The Red Wolves goal was scored by junior Sawyer Smith. Noah Koehler assisted on the goal. Smith finished with five shots against the Hawks. The Red Wolves fired nine shots on the night.
Playing its second 100-minute match in two games, senior goalkeeper Erik Galunas made 20 saves to earn the draw.
Cedar Ridge is still fighting for a first-round home playoff match. Following a 5-0 loss to Carrboro at Red Wolves Stadium on Thursday night, Cedar Ridge is 7-7-1 overall. They’re currently in fifth place in the conference with a 2-4-2 mark.
The Red Wolves will return home for a home match tomorrow. On Monday, Cedar Ridge will face J.F. Webb. Last month, the Warriors and the Red Wolves played to a 1-1 tie in Oxford. Cedar Ridge will travel to Carrboro for a rematch with the Jaguars on Wednesday.
