After going 36 years without hosting a postseason game, the Orange men’s soccer team will play at home to open the state playoffs this Thursday for the second year in a row.
And they could face the only team from the Big 7 Conference that’s beaten them this year.
Meanwhile, Cedar Ridge is headed to Dudley to play in the opening round on Tuesday.
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association released the field of 48 for the 5A State Playoffs on Sunday afternoon.
Orange, which won its first conference championship in the 38-year history of the program on Wednesday, received a #5 seed. The Panthers received a bye into the second round and will face the winner of Seaforth-Southern Guilford on Thursday night in Hillsborough.
A potential Orange-Seaforth matchup would be the third one this year in a series where each team has claimed a road win. On Wednesday night, the Panthers defeated the Hawks in Pittsboro behind a hat trick from John Gomez, which led to Orange winning the Big 7 title outright.
On October 6, Seaforth defeated Orange 2-1 in Hillsborough behind goals from Jack Bailiff and Collin Atkinson. It was Orange’s only conference loss and its only defeat since September 8.
Cedar Ridge will return to the playoffs after missing the 3A postseason last year. Under first year head coach Emiliano Chirigliano, the Red Wolves will face the Southern Wayne Saints in Dudley on Tuesday night. The Red Wolves received a 18-seed after finishing the regular season 9-9-2. They were in fourth place in the Big 7 with a 4-4-2 record.
Regardless of how it ends, this postseason will mark the final act of the most successful senior class in Orange men’s soccer history. Gomez, Yurem Tapia Mendez, Dallas Johnson, Carson Condon, Jay Parker, Durvin Lopez, Cris Gutierrez, Gabe Yen, and Logan Edwards set the school record for most wins in a season in 2024 with 16. In the 3A State Playoffs, Orange hosted the first state playoff game in school history against Swansboro. Mendez scored on a penalty kick in overtime to lead the Panthers past the Pirates 1-0.
This year, Orange has broken the school record again with 17 wins.
Since it started in 1987, Orange has never advanced past the second round of the state playoffs. Last year, Orange lost at Southern Nash in the second round. In 2017, the Panthers scored six goals in the final 30 minutes to defeat White Oak 6-2 in overtime to open the 3A State Playoffs. On a rainy night in Greensboro, Northern Guilford came from behind to beat Orange 3-2 in a heated, physical overtime battle in the round of 32.
Gomez had two hat tricks in the final week of the season to finish with 14 goals, which leads the team. Gomez had a hat trick in a win at J.F. Webb in Oxford last Monday, which ensured Orange would take the top seed into the state playoffs from the Big 7 Conference. Mendez is the Panthers leading scorer with eleven goals and 15 assists.
Cedar Ridge enters the playoffs capable of any result. They played to a 1-1 tie against Seaforth in Pittsboro behind a goal from Sawyer Smith. Last week, in a steady rain, they defeated Durham School of the Arts 4-3 at Red Wolves Stadium behind a game-winning goal from Tyler Baker, who finished with two goals. In their final home game, the Red Wolves were upset by South Granville 3-2 on Wednesday.
Southern Wayne finished in sixth place in the Big East Conference, a 5A/6A league. Overall, the Saints are 8-10-2. The Red Wolves and the Saints didn’t play any common opponents during the regular season. The winner of Cedar Ridge/Southern Wayne will face 2nd seeded Western Alamance. The Warriors are the defending 3A State Champions who also captured the Central Conference championship last year. This year, Western won the Mid-Carolina Conference.
