Cedar Ridge Men’s Soccer

Cedar Ridge trailed Orange 3-1 with 17:00 remaining at Cedar Ridge Stadium on Wednesday night in the first leg of the Hillsborough Derby. Then Nicholas Frank went to work. He scored two gorgeous goals in a span of 43 seconds as the Red Wolves forced overtime with a 3-3 tie at the end of regulation. In penalty kicks, Frank scored the game-winning goal. Junior goalkeeper Ty Corbin stopped Orange’s final attempt, and the Red Wolves won penalties 4-3 to beat their crosstown rival. Frank now has four goals on the season. In this interview, he called the penalty he converted the most pressure he’s ever felt. It was Cedar Ridge’s first home win over Orange since 2015. 

It Wednesday night didn’t test the Cedar Ridge soccer team’s character, nothing ever will. The Red Wolves trailed crosstown rival 3-1 with 17:00 remaining, but rallied with two goals in a span of 43 seconds. The match reached penalty kicks, where Orange led 3-2 going into the fourth round. Cedar Ridge junior Ty Corbin made back-to-back saves on Orange last two attempts from the spot, the final one sparking a raucous celebration as the Red Wolves on 4-3 in penalties. It was Corbin’s second win in his high school career in penalties. Last year, Cedar Ridge defeated Southern Durham at Spartan Stadium where Corbin ended the game with a save. It was Cedar Ridge’s first win over Orange inside Red Wolves Stadium since 2015. 

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior soccer midfielder Brandon Garcia. Entering Monday night’s game against Chapel Hill, Garcia had a six-game scoring streak. He ended last week with seven goals and three assists. That included a hat trick in a crazy 6-6 tie against the Durham School of the Arts on September 4. Garcia started the season with a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over Eastern Alamance on August 19. He has scored a goal in every game except one. The lone exception was against Carrboro, where he assisted on a goal by Reese Weaver. This is Garcia’s third year on the varsity. When he graduates from Cedar Ridge in June, he hopes to move into the field of sports medicine and try to play soccer in his spare time. Garcia and the rest of the Red Wolves will host crosstown rival Orange on Wednesday night at Cedar Ridge Stadium at 6:45. 

Would it be a stretch to say that last week was the most successful fall sports week at Cedar Ridge in years? Not at all.

In fact, it may be an understatement.

In 2016, the Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team won the Big 8 Conference Championship. The Red Wolves football team finished 6-5, the last time they had a winning season.

But to find a week with as many signature wins that register on a state level, you would have to go back to 2015, when the Red Wolves defeated Topsail and Lee County in the 3A State Volleyball playoffs. The Red Wolves hosted the 3A Eastern Regional championship match, where they lost to Asheboro in four sets.

A year after finishing 7-15, the Red Wolves put themselves in contention to win the Big 8 Championship with wins over Chapel Hill and Orange last week. Of course, it’s early. The Red Wolves are 3-0 and have eleven conference games remaining. But with freshmen Cameron Lloyd, Julie Altieri and Cameron Lanier leading the way, the Red Wolves will reach nine wins with a win tonight against Bartlett Yancey in Hillsborough. Keep in mind that after reaching the East final in 2015, Cedar Ridge hasn’t won nine games in a season.

Of course, it wasn’t just a volleyball week. Here’s our Magnificent Seven for a memorable Week 4. Keep in mind that of these seven athletes, one from each school will be chosen for the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week and the Orange Panther of the Week. Those choices will be revealed tomorrow.

1. Julie Altieri: In a 3-2 win for Cedar Ridge over Orange on Thursday, Altieri had eight aces, seven kills, nine digs and 28 assists. She also had the game-winning ace on match point to secure the Red Wolves’ first win over the Lady Panthers since 2016. It was their first win over Orange since 2015.
2. Brandon Garcia: Though the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team had a disappointing week with losses to Bartlett Yancey and Northwood, Garcia continues to excel. He now has a seven-game scoring streak to start the season. Garcia scored on a penalty kick against Northwood on Thursday in Hillsborough. Against the Buccaneers in Yanceyville, he scored the equalizing goal as the Red Wolves fought back from a 2-nil deficit to even the match against B-Y.
3. Nora Sauers: Earned wins in singles and in doubles as Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team defeated Vance County to improve to 6-3 overall on the season. Sauers also won two matches against Northern Durham on September 3.
4. Courtney Edwards: Six tackles, including one for a loss, for the Orange football team’s 21-13 win over Williams on Friday night. Edwards also scored his first varsity touchdown on a 4th-and-inches from the Williams 4-yard line late in the first half after Orange fell behind 13-0. It was Edwards’ first touchdown since his Pop Warner days.
5. Elliott Woods: The Orange wingback/linebacker was a iron man against Williams. He had a team-high eleven tackles. Woods also had a key 19-yard reception on a 3rd-and-4 early in the third quarter, which was Orange’s first 3rd down conversion in the game. Woods finished with 59 yards from scrimmage.
6. Halle Boroski: The Orange women’s tennis team defeated Southern Alamance and Northern Durham last week. Boroski won at #6 singles 6-3, 6-4, then teamed with Ashley Behringer to win at #3 doubles 8-4. Against the Patriots, Boroski captured her singles match 6-3, 6-4. In doubles, once again she teamed with Behringer to win 8-4.
7. Avery Miller: The Orange sophomore outside hitter had a team-high eleven kills as the Orange volleyball team defeated Vance County 3-0 in the first-ever match between the two teams. Miller also had four digs. Earlier this year, Miller had eleven kills against Person.

The best start in Cedar Ridge volleyball history came to an end against a deep, tall, experienced group from Jordan High.

The Falcons defeated the Red Wolves 3-1 at Falcon Gymnasium on Monday night. The Red Wolves (6-1) lost the final set 25-15. Cedar Ridge remained close in the final set, trailing 10-9 before Jordan went on a 9-2 run. Jordan junior Maegan Williams had three kills in that span. Senior Morgan Hyman ended the match with a kill that hugged the outside line to improve the Falcons to 5-3 on the season.

Jordan also defeated Orange in the Peak City Classic at Apex Friendship High School on August 24.

It’s the start of a strenuous week for the Red Wolves. After facing a Jordan team that has six seniors on its 13-player roster on Monday, the Red Wolves will host three-time defending Big 8 Champion Chapel Hill on Tuesday night at Cedar Ridge. Chapel Hill, who defeated Jordan 3-1 on August 20, started its Big 8 season with a 3-0 victory over Vance County on Monday night.

On Thursday night, Cedar Ridge will face crosstown rival Orange at Panther Gymnasium. The Lady Panthers have defeated Cedar Ridge five straight times. The game will pair teammates from the Chapel Hill Area Volleyball Club against each other. Last spring, the CHAVC finished 2nd in the Big South Qualifier in Atlanta, Georgia. They earned an invitation to the USA Volleyball Girls National Championships in Indianapolis, which took place in June.

Cedar Ridge freshmen Cameron Lloyd, Julie Altieri, and Cameron Lanier were members of the CHAVC, along with current Orange freshman Erin Jordan-Cornell. Lloyd and Jordan-Cornell were also teammates at Stanford Middle School, but will be on opposite sides of the net on Thursday.

Orange will start its Big 8 Conference campaign on Tuesday night, making the long trip north to play Vance County. The Vipers joined the Big 8 Conference during the summer after Hillside moved back up to 4A.

Men’s Soccer: The Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team took a hard luck loss against Bartlett Yancey 3-2 on Monday night in Yanceyville. The Red Wolves fought back from a 2-0 deficit at halftime and evened the game, but the Buccaneers scored the game-winning goal late.

Senior midfielder Brandon Garcia scored for the sixth consecutive game by scoring the opener for the Red Wolves in the 2nd half. Cedar Ridge evened the game when Reese Weaver scored off an assist from Nick Frank.

Garcia now has six goals and three assists through six games this season. Weaver has four goals, while Frank has two goals and two assists.

Cedar Ridge is 2-3-1. The Red Wolves will open Big 8 Conference play against Northwood on Wednesday night at Red Wolves Stadium. Remarkably, this will be the home opener for Cedar Ridge three weeks into the season. They were supposed to play Bartlett Yancey last week, but the game was postponed.

The Orange men’s soccer team will play only once this week. They travel to East Chapel Hill on Wednesday night. It will also be their Big 8 Conference opener. The Panthers are 3-2 after falling to Riverside in Durham on Friday night.

The third week of the fall sports season faced interruptions from Hurricane Dorian, which led to a unusually busy Friday night. Here are the best individual performances from Week 3 of the fall sports season, including Cedar Ridge volleyball winning its sixth straight match and an Orange sophomore running back who made an immediate impact in his varsity debut. If any coach has a nomination, please email hamlin37@hotmail.com to get your athlete included (looking at you women’s golf and cross country coaches!)

Cameron Lloyd: The first two-time inductee into the Hall of Awesome, Lloyd statistical line in Cedar Ridge’s 3-1 win over Northwood on Friday night was too much to ignore. Lloyd, a freshman, had 16 kills as the Red Wolves won its Big 8 opener in Pittsboro, beating the Chargers for the first time since 2015. Northwood had beaten Cedar Ridge six straight times. Even though she just started high school, Lloyd has quickly established herself as the Red Wolves top finisher. She has led the Red Wolves in kills in three straight matches and four of its last six.

Erin Jordan-Cornell: In its only game of the week, the Orange volleyball team defeated Roxboro Community School 3-0 in Hillsborough. Jordan-Cornell, a 6-1 freshman, had seven kills, tying for the team lead. Through Orange’s 5-3 start, Jordan-Cornell leads the team with 28 kills and 13 blocks. Orange will open Big 8 Conference play on Tuesday against the newest member of the league, Vance County, in Hillsborough.

Brandon Garcia: The game of the week was Wednesday night in Durham, where Cedar Ridge’s men soccer team had a wild 6-6 draw against the Durham School of the Arts. Garcia, a senior midfielder, notched a hat trick to continue his scoring streak to start the year. In addition to the goal, Garcia assisted on a goal by Dean Allen. Garcia started the year with the game-winning goal in Cedar Ridge’s 1-0 win over Hobbton. He also scored. a goal in a 5-1 victory over Eastern Alamance, and assisted on a marker by Reese Weaver in a 4-2 loss to Carrboro. Garcia has a five-game scoring streak going into Monday night’s tilt against Bartlett Yancey in Yanceyville.

Omarion Lewis: A sophomore running back for the Orange football team, Lewis sat out the season-opener against R.j. Reynolds. He didn’t play in the first half against South Granville, but he certainly jolted life into a lethargic Orange offense in the 2nd half. Lewis ran for 119 yards with a touchdown in his first varsity game. Lewis, who had been slated to play on the junior varsity before Friday, was the first Orange player to rush for 100 yards since Hunter Pettiford ran for 199 yards against Southern Durham on September 28, 2018.

Anne Morrell: The Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team participated in the Friday Night Lights Cross Country Festival at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville on Friday night. In a 26 team field, Cedar Ridge finished 12th. Morrell led the way for the Red Wolves with a time of 20:59.28, good enough for 65th place in a field of 215 runners. Cedar Ridge sophomore Zoe Wade finished right behind Morrell in 68th. Last season, Morrell helped the Red Wolves finished 2nd in the Mideast Regionals and qualified for the state championships. Cedar Ridge returns the bulk of last year’s team and is aiming for big things this fall.

Jera Hargrove: The sophomore, who was the Orange women’s tennis squad’s top singles player last season as a freshman, started the week with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Northwood’s #1 singles player. The Chargers held off the Lady Panthers 5-4. On Wednesday, Hargrove extended Chapel Hill’s top singles player, Lauren Bolzan, to three sets. After dropping the opening set 6-4, Hargrove won the second set 6-4, leading to a 10-point tiebreaker to determine the match. Bolzan captured that 10-8. Hargrove defeated Person’s Kaitlyn Wrenn in straight sets on August 29.

Elliott Sikes: On Tuesday night, the Orange men’s soccer team defeated Hillside 7-1. Elliott Sikes produced two goals and two assists against the Hornets. Orange improved to 3-1 before falling to Riverside on Friday night 4-2.

With its biggest tests still ahead against the southern end of Orange County, the Orange volleyball team has momentum headed into its Big 8 Conference opener.

On Wednesday night, the Lady Panthers quickly finished Roxboro Community School 3-0 at Panther Gymnasium in Hillsborough. Orange won its fifth straight on scores of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-11.

After starting the season 0-3, the Lady Panthers will host East Chapel Hill in its conference opener in Hillsborough on Thursday night in Hillsborough.

Freshman Erin Jordan-Cornell, the younger sister of former Orange offensive lineman Jace Jordan-Cornell, finished with seven kills and two blocks. Last week, Jordan-Cornell had eight kills in a 3-0 win over South Granville in Creedmoor.

Senior Kaitlyn Werden and Emma Clements tied Jordan-Cornell with a team-high seven kills. Werden, who had a team-high ten kills in an upset over Person last week, also finished with 16 assists, five digs and three aces. Clements added seven digs and one ace.

Senior Brooke Fryar and sophomore Lottie Scully each registered 15 digs. Scully also led Orange with 17 assists.

Tuesday’s match was the last before Orange enters Big 8 Conference play. In addition to Thursday’s match against East Chapel Hill, Orange will make its first-ever trip to Vance County on Tuesday. Vance County replaced Hillside as a member of the Big 8 Conference during the summer after the Hornets returned to 4A. Though its located in Henderson, Vance County is a separate entity from Northern Vance and Southern Vance, which consolidated to create the new school. It is located at the location of the previous Southern Vance High.

Orange’s next nine matches will be conference affairs. Their next nonconference tilt will be a return trip to Roxboro Community School on October 4, which is also slated to be its final nonconference game of the year.

Men’s Soccer: Orange 7, Hillside 1

After scoring three goals in a span of 13 minutes last week in a 5-3 victory over Eastern Alamance, the Orange men’s soccer team continued its fireworks with a 7-1 victory at Hillside on Tuesday night.

Jose Beltran, who notched the first hat trick of his career against the Eagles, added another goal against the Hornets. Elliott Sikes had the biggest night of all for Orange, racking up two goals and two assists. Leif Mahoney, Jason Franklin and Tyler Werden each had one goal and one assist. Nick Catalano also scored a goal for Orange. Rohan Kasthuri assisted on two goals for the Panthers, who have opened the year 3-1.

Orange will play one more nonconference game on Friday night at Riverside inside Line Wrenn Stadium in Durham. That is slated to be the final nonconference game of the year, but those plans may change. The Panthers had contest against Carrboro and Eastern Alamance rained out during the first week of the season. There has been no word on whether those games will be made up.

Orange will open Big 8 Conference play at East Chapel Hill next Wednesday inside Dave Thaden Stadium.

On Wednesday night, the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team will travel to the Durham School of the Arts. The Red Wolves, who had a game against Bartlett Yancey postponed last week, is slated to face the Buccaneers on Monday night in Yanceyville.