It’s rarely something to brag about to be the third-best team in your league.
It wasn’t the goal of the Orange women’s soccer team this season, but the only teams ahead of the Lady Panthers in the Central Conference are Western Alamance and Eastern Alamance–currently ranked #1 and #2, respectively, in the 3A East RPI rankings.
Eastern Alamance was the 2023 3A State Champion.
On top of that, Orange is on pace to host its first state playoff game since 2017 if they can maintain its current form.
On Wednesday night, Orange’s two top seniors had a storybook ending in their final home regular season game. Tied 2-2 with Southern Alamance, Caroline Cathey found Sullivan Gaddy, who chipped the ball into the lower left corner of the net with 2:32 remaining in the opening 10-minute overtime period. Gaddy completed her third hat trick of the season.
“It’s just so fun to watch them,” said Orange head coach Jacki Mignosa. “Four years worth of memories to culminate in that goal was special.”
Orange goalkeeper Alexis Stephens did the rest in the second overtime session as the Patriots couldn’t muster another strong opportunity. Orange completed a 3-2 win, its fifth straight win. After a 1-3 start to the season, the Lady Panthers have won nine of its last 12 games going into Thursday night’s game against Person.
Gaddy’s first goal scored in the 11th minute off an assist from Cora Bailey. She added a penalty kick in the second half to put Orange ahead 2-1. The Patriots would find the equalizer with its own tally off a penalty, sending the game to overtime.
Gaddy has scored 22 goals this year, a new career-high.
Orange (10-6, 7-4 in the Central Conference) prevailed in its first overtime game of the season.
Hosting a state playoff game would be another accomplishment for Gaddy that’s been full of unprecedented achievements for the program.
“It’s always been one of our goals,” Mignosa said.
In her freshman year, she was the leading scorer for the most successful team in the history of the program that dates back 37 years. In 2022, Orange reached the third round of the 3A State Playoffs for the first time ever, winning road games at Harnett Central and Cape Fear. She scored 13 goals, including two over Harnett in Lillington. It was Orange’s first playoff win in six years.
Orange’s last home playoff win came against Southern Lee in 2016.
As the Lady Panthers enter the final week of the regular season, they’re becoming the team that Mignosa envisioned at the beginning of the year.
“It’s become a team that plays together,” Mignosa said. “They’re a team that trusts each other. They’re the team that I envisioned when I selected them at tryouts. I knew their strengths and I knew their weaknesses. They worked to strengthen their weaknesses. That’s the team I’ve envisioned with all of their strengths working together.”
On Monday, Orange rolled past Person 9-0 on Senior Night. Gaddy scored two goals and an assist. Bailey added two goals, her third brace in April. Lucy Frank, Molly Kruse, Emma Edwards, Madison Edwards and Maddie Dutton also added goals for Orange.
Ella McCay, the daughter of former North Carolina and Orange High baseball player Matt McCay, added an assist on the Edwards goal. Seniors Gaddy, Cathey, Bailey, Stephens, Dutton, and Nicole Bocengra were honored in a pregame ceremony.
Orange will face Person in Roxboro on Thursday. They will finish the regular season against Eastern Alamance in Mebane on Wednesday.
The win over Southern Alamance ensured that the Lady Panthers can finish no lower than third place. Western Alamance and Eastern Alamance are battling for the conference championship. At the end of action on Wednesday, Western Alamance is 9-0-1 in conference play while the Eagles are 8-1-1.