Photo by Kim Petrides
PITTSBORO–They are the first of their kind.
Every loose ball that landed with a thud on the soggy Seaforth pitch in Pittsboro on Wednesday night kicked up water. There was standing rain along both sidelines. Players from both sides got their socks and shorts muddy before the feeling out process ended. The eleven Seaforth seniors had their numbers outlined in white paint inside the midfield circle for its final regular season home game, but it was a smeared mess just minutes after kickoff as the mist continued to fall throughout another grey evening.
On the night of their greatest triumph, nothing came easy for Orange men’s soccer. Then again, it never has in the 38-year history of the program.
It was muddy, it was messy and it was perfect.
Because the Panthers completed what Pat Todd started in the fall of 1987.
For the first time ever, Orange men’s soccer has won a conference championship.
Senior John Gomez scored his second career hat trick as the Panthers defeated Seaforth 3-1 at Hawks Stadium. The Panthers finish the regular season 17-5, winning the Big 7 Conference title with an 11-1 record, one game ahead of Carrboro.
Orange will receive a bye into the 2nd round of the 5A State Playoffs. The Panthers will host a playoff game next Thursday. The pairings will be released by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association on Sunday.
In addition, Orange broke the school record for most wins in a season with its 17th win, surpassing the ld mark set by last year’s team.
Todd started the original Orange men’s soccer program 38 years ago, a time when Orange and Chapel Hill were the only high schools in the entire county. By the time Orange decided to start men’s soccer, Chapel Hill had already won three state championships.
Though he isn’t one to wear emotions on his sleeve, the magnitude of the moment wasn’t lost on 14th year head coach Palmer Bowman, who has led the program to its most lofty milestones. Last year, Orange hosted a state playoff game for the first time ever, a 1-0 overtime win over Swansboro in Hillsborough.
Following years as an assistant at Riverside, Bowman joined Orange as a junior varsity coach in 2009 while Pat Roeber handled the varsity team. Three years later, with the 2012 season already in progress, Bowman was on his way to practice one day when he bumped into Athletic Director Earnie Price, who informed him that he had been appointed the new varsity head coach due to an emergency situation.
“I slid in in a pinch and I’ve never looked back,” Bowman said. “I was fortunate that Coach Price trusted me with that.”
It was the second hat trick for Gomez in two games. On Monday, Gomez scored three goals in a 5-0 win over J.F. Webb in Oxford on another rainy day that sewed up a share of the conference title.
Gomez needed only seven minutes to notch the opener against a physical Seaforth team. With 25:43 remaining in the first half, midfielder Ajali Carter engineered a takeaway and found Gomez in the penalty area, who fired it past goalkeeper Abel Williams to put the Panthers ahead 2-0.
Seaforth quickly recovered. Junior midfielder Justin Fernandez took a pass from 12 yards out and rolled it into the right corner to cut the Orange lead in half with 14:55 remaining in the first half.
Moments later, the Hawks nearly tied it up. A corner by the Hawks ricocheted to junior Juan Colina, who sent a header off the crossbar from eight yards away.
The Hawks were the aggressor to open the second half as fog began to settle in. Seaforth’s biggest opportunity came when Ryan Dibb took a pass on a breakaway pass from Braxe Ruesch and engaged in a footrace with Orange centerback Dallas Johnson down the middle of the field. There was contact between Johnson and Dibb in the penalty area, but no call as the ball tumbled over the mud into the diving hands of Orange goalkeeper Hector Garrido.
Dibb got another opportunity with 22:53 remaining when he took a throw-in and flicked a quick header from the edge of the six-yard box that Garrido immediately captured.
Gomez completed the hat trick with a 21-yard shot that Williams initially deflected, but it rolled closer to the muddy goal line. The ball cleared the goal line with the referee’s assistant on the far sideline waving his flag to signify a goal with 20:42 remaining, increasing the Orange lead to 3-1.
From there, Johnson’s relentless running to intervene on every 50-50 ball, along with challenges from wingback John Williams, was enough to run out the clock without Seaforth mounting another opportunity.
In soccer, success isn’t ultimately measured by wins. It’s measured by trophies. Now, Orange men’s soccer finally has one to call its own.
“It’s testament to a lot of folks over a lot of years,” Bowman said. “Going back to Coach Price, Mike McCauley, Jason Knapp. I could name off a ton of assistants and a ton of former players. A lot of folks contributed to us getting to this point and setting the standard. This senior class has done it from start to finish this season.”
