The Cedar Ridge lacrosse team will host its first game in the state playoffs since 2022 following the release of the 3A/2A/1A State Lacrosse brackets finalized by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
As expected, Orange received the #1 seed in the East Region after going 20-1 in the regular season, the best winning percentage in team history going into the playoffs.
Cedar Ridge, led by first-year head coach Joe De Leo, will host West Carteret in a first-round game at Red Wolves Stadium on Wednesday night at 6PM. The Red Wolves received a #14 seed. It will be the Red Wolves first home playoff game since they defeated Western Alamance in 2022 behind Roman Oguntoyinbo, who scored nine goals in an 18-5 win. The Patriots will arrive in Hillsborough with a 3-7 record. They went 0-4 in the Coastal Conference.
The winner of Cedar Ridge-West Carteret will travel to Kill Devil Hills to face 3rd-seeded First Flight in the second round. As fate would have it, Cedar Ridge’s last playoff game came against First Flight, which the Nighthawks won 14-10. First Flight would go on to win the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional championship, beating Orange in Hillsborough 13-7 for the title.
Cedar Ridge, led by senior Jacob Driver, won five of seven games during a stretch in April to return to the state playoffs. The Red Wolves defeated Southeast Alamance 21-5 at Red Wolves Stadium on April 19, a game where Driver finished with six goals. Cedar Ridge also defeated Eastern Alamance 11-5 on April 23 in Hillsborough. They finished the regular season 9-10 overall, 6-10 in the Mid-Piedmont Conference.
For the third year in a row, the road to the 3A/2A/1A State Championship game will run through Auman Stadium in Hillsborough. Orange won a school-record 16 conference games in the Mid-Piedmont and finished 17-0 against opposition in its same classification this year. The Panthers received a bye into the second round and are scheduled to play on Saturday night, though that is subject to change, against the winner of Southern Alamance vs. Northside-Jacksonville. The Patriots and the Monarchs will face off in Graham on Wednesday.
The Panthers already have defeated Southern Alamance twice this year. Orange defeated the Patriots 18-5 on March 25 in Graham, a game where Orange midfielder Connor Kruse tied the national record with 16 assists in one game. 17 different Orange players scored goals in the opening meeting against the Patriots. On April 22, Orange routed the Patriots 20-1 at Auman Stadium. Junior Gray Crabtree finished with seven goals, while Luke Nevius and Kruse each had a hat trick.
If Orange faces Northside-Jacksonville, it would be a flashback for Orange head coach Chandler Zirkle. His first playoff win as a head coach came in Jacksonville against the Monarchs, a 17-13 victory on May 2, 2019. Dylan Boyer scored four goals as the Panthers never trailed. To show how much Orange lacrosse has progressed, it was just the second-ever playoff win for Orange. In the past two years, the Panthers have won a total of six playoff games.
Orange could play a series of conference rivals in the opening two rounds. If the Panthers can reach the third round, they would face either Seaforth or Western Alamance. This season, Seaforth was the main challenger to the Panthers throne. The Hawks, a 2A team out of Pittsboro now in its third year, finished 2nd in the Mid-Piedmont with a 14-2 mark.
Orange set a team record scoring 355 goals this season. It will be the last playoff run for seniors Connor Kruse, Katie Wolter, defensemen Sascha Van Praag, Alden Cathey and Jace Womble, attackers Josh Crabtree, Brennan Barker, Bryce Nelson and midfielders Josh Cowan, Josh Merrill and Nate Sorrells along with goalkeeper Parker Christie-Pohl.
Crabtree has committed to play with Methodist. Kruse and Van Praag have signed with Division II Lenoir-Rhyne. Wolter will play women’s lacrosse at Elon. Cathey has signed with Arcadia University in Pennsylvania.