Photo by Jacques Morin
Things were different for Cedar Ridge women’s soccer the last time they won at Orange.
The Red Wolves had a sophomore named Emerson Talley, who would go on to score more goals than any player in school history. Against Orange on March 25, 2019, Talley would score a hat trick. Goalkeeper Grace Davies, who was a DJ that spun her own music featured on Spotify, even scored on a penalty kick in a 5-0 Red Wolf win.
That was the last time the Red Wolves won at Orange until this past Thursday night.
Behind a clean sheet from senior Ellamarie Perel, the Red Wolves stymied Orange’s offense to win 2-0 at Orange Soccer Field. The victory ended a ten game winless streak for Cedar Ridge against Orange, a period where they went 0-9-1. The lone tie was a 5-5 draw at Orange on April 24, 2024.
Junior Kate Finnegan scored the game-winning goal in the first half off a free kick. Senior Peyton Decker sent a ball into the box from 40 yards away that Finnegan chipped across on a curl in the box.
Sophomore Charlotte Darab scored her third goal of the season, and her second in two nights, for insurance. Darab took a pass from Nora Kelly and scored to put the Red Wolves ahead 2-0.
Perel, who was a middle blocker for the conference champion Cedar Ridge volleyball team last fall, made five saves to earn the win in net.
Cedar Ridge (4-5, 2-1 in the Big 7 Conference) completed a stretch of three games over four days leading into spring break. Last Wednesday, the Red Wolves rolled past J.F. Webb 8-0.
Finnegan scored five goals to earn her second hat trick of the season. She also scored three goals in a win over Bartlett Yancey on March 10. Finnegan now has 13 goals on the season.
Darab, Kelly, Ava Smith and Nora Kelly each scored for Cedar Ridge against the Warriors in Oxford. Alex Tong and Gracie Whitaker each tallied two assists.
Perel made five saves to earn her first clean sheet of the season.
Cedar Ridge will return from spring break to host Carrboro on April 6 at Red Wolves Stadium
