Five weeks of relentless travel to start the season has ended–at least for one night–for the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team.
The track around Red Wolves Stadium was one of many renovation projects around Cedar Ridge and Orange High Schools this summer. It kept Cedar Ridge men’s soccer on the road for its opening seven games, where they journeyed from Henderson to Cary to Efland.
On Monday night, they finally played its first home game and made the wait worth their while.
Senior Salomon Hernandez scored two goals while Rodrigo Arellano added two goals and two assists as the Red Wolves defeated Eastern Alamance 9-0 in Hillsborough. Alex Rosales, Miko James, Arturo Hernandez and Sawyer Smith added goals as the Red Wolves improved to 3-3-2 overall while staying in first place in the Central Conference with a 2-0 mark.
“It was worth the wait, oh my gosh,” Cedar Ridge coach Chauncey Brummell, who took the Red Wolves to a second-place finish in the Central Conference last year. “Anytime you have a young team, it’s going to take them some time to gel and learn how to work together as a team. We’re not the only young team in the conference so there’s really no excuse.”
Junior Erik Galunas earned the victory in net as he played in the opening 40 minutes. Senior Ben Miller started the second half and played the final 17 minutes until the final goal of the game scored by Arellano, who fired it in from 20 yards off a free kick.
Salomon Hernandez, who battled his way back from injury, scored the opening goal off a corner kick fired in by James with 21:27 remaining in the first half. Rosales added insurance when Arellano fired a shot from 28 yards, which was knocked down by an Eagles defender. Rosales took possession off the rebound, dribbled into the penalty area and fired it in from eleven yards along the near post.
Arturo Hernandez added a third goal with 9:15 remaining in the first half when he collected a pass from Arellano and shot it in from 12 yards away.
Arellano, a freshman, turned 14 on Monday.
Cedar Ridge’s home stand will be short-lived. On Wednesday, they will travel to Elon to face Western Alamance at Primm Stadium. The Warriors are atop the Central Conference after former Red Wolf Dominic McNerney, who led Cedar Ridge in scoring last year, transferred to Western Alamance last month.
“The constant travel has been tough,” Brummell said. “Being on the bus for 45 minutes to one hour is a lot. For me, as an adult, it’s a lot. I can only imagine what it’s like for those kids not being able to play a home game for a month. To finally play on their home field and have a decent crowd tonight, it was great for the kids. And to get a win was even better.”
The Red Wolves will host Walter Williams next Monday.
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Orange 9, Person 0: Another multigoal game from junior Yurem Tapia Mendez led Orange to a 9-0 victory at Rockets Stadium in Roxboro on Monday night. Mendez finished with two goals, his four multi-goal games this season as the Panthers improved to 7-3 overall, 2-1 in the Central Conference. Mendez has eleven goals overall.
Mendez scored the opening goal. Junior Logan Edwards added two goals, the first two of his varsity career. Edwards’ first tally of the night gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead. Sophomore Brendan McDonald also had a brace, including the ninth goal that ended the game in the second half. McDonald now has three goals this season.
Carson Condon and Demetrius Holmes each had goals in the first half as Orange took a 5-0 lead to halftime. Kace McAuley also scored for the Panthers.
Orange will host Southern Alamance in Hillsborough on Wednesday night.