Photo by Eric Perel
Fleury Nicholson was there. So were Celine Galla and Anna Peterson.
They were all Cedar Ridge Red Wolf women’s soccer players who graduated last spring. With their freshman seasons in college now behind them, they gathered in Hillsborough again as fans to see if their former teammates could do something they never did: beat Orange.
In the state playoffs, no less.
Seated in the Orange home section, Nicholson, Galla and Peterson hollered the loudest as the Red Wolves earned just its second postseason win in the last eight years.
After Orange controlled the opening ten minutes, junior Kate Finnegan gained control of the game with her fifth hat trick of the season to push Cedar Ridge over Orange 3-0 in the opening round of the 5A State Playoffs at Panther Soccer Field on Monday night.
Cedar Ridge (9-12-1) got 13 saves from senior goalkeeper Ellamarie Perel to earn its second win at Orange this season. The Red Wolves will travel to Elon to face 2025 3A State Champion Western Alamance on Thursday night.
Coming into the season, Cedar Ridge hadn’t won at Orange since 2019.
“I’m proud of the team,” said Cedar Ridge head coach Sam Semerzier. “I’m also proud of the girls that left before this team have done. Because players like Fleury, Rachel (Alverson) and Anna, they spread the seeds. That’s the same spirit they had and tonight we enjoyed the fruits, I would say.”
As Nicholson, Galla and Peterson congratulated their former teammates in the postgame, the scene across the sideline was one of resignation for Orange. Senior Kyla Mehl, whose megawatt smile can light up the darkest of rooms, packed up her book bag one last time looking remorseful. Mehl, along with her classmate Molly Kruse and Alexis Stephens, are multi-sport athletes. Playing basketball, tennis and soccer, the number of practices and games that the Mehl, Kruse and Stephens participated in over the past four years easily reach the hundreds.
And now it was over.
Orange coach Jacki Mignosa walked over behind the team bench for a brief word and one last hug from Mehl.
It’s a squad that especially personal for Mignosa. Her daughter, Lucy, is also a senior who signed to play for Concord University in West Virginia last week.
“Every year, I’m just blessed to have these girls,” Mignosa said. “It’s beyond anything else. It’s just the love between them. The companionships and the friendships that they’ve built here. And that’s just something that’s part of our culture. That’s something that we try to foster year after year. The senior do a great job every year of building and building and building.”
Orange largely controlled the opening ten minutes. The strongest opportunity for the Lady Panthers early came when Lucy Mignosa got a touch from ten yards away but her shot was deflected and captured by Perel. Minutes later, Mehl intercepted a pass and fed freshman Emeline Lobdell, who fired wide from 21 yards.
With 27:30 remaining in the first half, Orange freshman Emery Kruse attempted a free kick from 40 yards away that barely drifted left of the post, winding up in the net webbing.
The Red Wolves controlled the action for the remainder of the half. Freshman Nora Kelly was fouled in the box, leading to a penalty kick. Stephens made the save on the penalty, then turned back Finnegan’s rebound attempt from point blank range.
After Stephens won another foot race when she knocked away a lead pass intended for Finnegan by wingback Elana Joubert, the Red Wolves finally cashed in. Finnegan accepted a throw-in from Peyton Decker and drilled to the middle of the field, rolling a shot past Stephens into the low left corner of the net for the game-winning goal with 20:07 remaining in the first half.
Ava Smith assisted on Finnegan’s second goal with 9:18 remaining in the first half. Finnegan found an opening and again found the lower left corner to put the Red Wolves ahead 2-0.
Finnegan sealed the hat trick with 27:50 remaining in regulation, scoring an unassisted goal.
