Photo by Jacques Morin
The route to the Orange lacrosse team’s sixth consecutive conference title is plain as day.
Simply beat Cedar Ridge and Seaforth next week at Auman Stadium in Hillsborough and the Panthers will retain the crown they have dominated for over a half-decade.
With top scorers Brett Clark, Owen Wimsatt and Matthew Macneir returning from last year’s squad that went 22-5 and reached the 3A/2A/1A State Quarterfinals, to the naked eye it would seem repeating as conference champion would be a formality.
Except it really didn’t work out that way at all at the beginning of the year.
Early on, Clark, Wimsatt, Macneir and Dylan Herndon were all injured. They were all absent when the Panthers limped past Walter Williams 5-4 in Burlington on March 3. Last year, the Panthers beat the Bulldogs by scores of 15-3 and 11-6.
Eventually, the Panthers grew healthier and it led to wins in its first five conference games. On Monday, the Panthers fought past Northwood 9-5 at Chargers Stadium in Pittsboro to improve to 10-5 overall, 5-0 in the Big 7 Conference.
For Orange head coach Chandler Zirkle, it was simply a matter of getting healthier.
“Give us three of our four leading scorers and we’re able to score a lot of points,” Zirkle said following a 13-4 win over Northwood on March 26 in Hillsborough. “We’ve been pretty efficient when we’ve had the ball this year. So we’ve been pretty happy with what we’ve been doing. The challenge has been getting the ball to our main guys.”
In Monday’s win over Northwood, junior Daylon Smalls earned a hat trick with three goals, including the opening tally three minutes into the game. Clark, who leads the team with 31 goals, scored his only tally of the night to put the Panthers ahead 2-0.
Northwood’s Grayson Cox, a senior who was a member of the Chargers 2023 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship team, set the school scoring record against Orange. He notched four goals and one assist, including the opening Chargers’ marker with 5:15 remaining in the opening quarter.
Wimsattl, who scored 53 goals as a sophomore in 2025, scored the first of two goals to put the Panthers ahead 3-1 at the end of the first quarter.
Smalls, Jay Parker and Wimsatt all scored in the second quarter as the Panthers pushed its advantage to 6-2 at halftime. Cox notched the only Northwood goal in the frame.
Orange goalkeeper Jackson Runkle, who scored a coast-to-coast goal in the opening game in Hillsborough last month, made ten saves to earn the win in net. He triggered 15 completed clears and faced 22 shots on goal.
Jack Eakes, who won eight of 15 faceoffs, scored his lone goal in the second half. Smalls scored the final tally for Orange, who was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. The Panthers still led 9-3 going into the final stanza. Cox scored the final two goals of the night, just 53 seconds apart for Northwood.
“Northwood is always incredibly well coached,” Zirkle said. “Coach (Randy) Cox does a tremendous job. There are three former Division I lacrosse players coaching on that sideline. They are always well developed. Their have one of the best goalkeepers in the state. They have one of the best midfielders in the state. Greyson is tremendous. He shakes your hand after the game. Super respectful person.”
It was another win for Orange in the rivalry with Northwood that marked Zirkle’s first big moment as Orange head coach. In 2021, as the state playoffs were contested amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Panthers defeated the Chargers to reach the state quarterfinals for the first time in program history.
Two years later, Northwood defeated Orange in Hillsborough to win the regional title.
The Panthers will host Cedar Ridge on Wednesday, then host Seaforth next Friday for its final conference game. Leading up to the State Playoffs, Orange will have non conference games at Chapel Hill, then host Corinth Holders to close the regular season.
