Photo by Jacques Morin
At one point in December, Cedar Ridge senior midfielder Ava Smith was worried her soccer season was in jeopardy.
Smith injured her foot playing basketball in the first quarter of the game at Orange. She left the floor on crutches. Not only did Smith recover in time for the end of basketball season, but she recorded her first multi-goal game of her career on Monday night.
Smith scored two goals as the Red Wolves defeated South Granville 7-0 at Vikings Stadium in Creedmoor. Smith now has four goals on the season.
Freshman Natalie Slagle scored two goals as Cedar Ridge improved to 5-8 overall, 3-3 in the Big 7 Conference.
Senior Ellamarie Perel, a goalkeeper, earned the win by making six save. Perel also scored her second goal of the season off a penalty kick. Junior Kate Finnegan added a goal as Cedar Ridge took a 3-0 lead to the locker room at halftime. Finnegan leads the team with 18 goals. She had two hat tricks this season, most recently against J.F. Webb on March 25 when she scored five goals.
Freshman Nora Kelly added a goal, bringing her total to five on the season.
Cedar Ridge will host crosstown rival Orange in the second leg of the Hillsborough Derby on Wednesday night at Red Wolves Stadium. The Red Wolves defeated the Lady Panthers 2-0 last month at Orange Soccer Field, its first victory over Orange since 2019.
Seaforth 1, Orange 0
Seaforth’s Reagan Willauer scored the game’s only goal off an assist from Sofia Viana to defeat Orange 1-0 in Hillsborough on Monday night. The Hawks maintained its share of first place in the Big 7 Conference and improved to 7-2-1 overall, 5-0 in the league.
Seaforth and Carrboro are tied in the loss column for first place.
Orange senior goalkeeper Alexis Stephens made several big saves in the second half to keep Orange in it late. The Lady Panthers fall to 4-4-1 overall, 3-3 in the Big 7.
