Orange Panther of the Week: Connor Kruse

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is lacrosse midfielder Connor Kruse. On Thursday night, Orange returned to action and edged Jordan 14-13. Kruse had four goals and three assists. The following night, Orange pulled away from Williams and won 12-8, keeping the Bulldogs scoreless in the final 12:08. Kruse finished with five goals and two assists. Kruse is the leading scorer for an Orange team that is undefeated in the Mid-Carolina Conference at 8-0. Kruse, as a freshman, was a prominent player on Orange’s conference championship team last season, which advanced to the 3A/2A/1A State Quarterfinals. Kruse is the son of Travis Kruse, a former lacrosse player at UNC and Johns Hopkins. It was clear this would be a solid season for Orange from the very beginning. On March 2, Orange defeated East Chapel Hill at Dave Thaden Stadium, the first time ever the Panthers defeated the Wildcats in lacrosse. The Panthers will face Eastern Alamance on Tuesday at Auman Stadium, then take on Northwood in Hillsborough. Orange will conclude the regular season with a road trip to Eastern Alamance on Thursday night in Mebane. If Orange wins two of its three games this week, they will win the Mid-Carolina Conference championship under head coach Chandler Zirkle.