Orange Women’s Soccer

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior striker Caroline Cathey. This season, the Orange women’s soccer team hosted a game in the state playoffs for the first time since 2017. Fittingly, in her final game in Hillsborough, Cathey scored a goal as the Lady Panthers defeated Southern Nash 7-0 in the opening round of the state playoffs. In her freshman year, Cathey was a member of the first Orange team to advance to the third round of the state playoffs. She assisted on a goal in a first round playoff win at Harnett Central. This season, Cathey scored 16 goals for a Lady Panther team that finished 8-3-1 in the Central Conference. On March 3, Cathey scored four goals in a 9-3 win over Durham School of the Arts. Later that month, Cathey scored two goals in a 7-0 victory over DSA. Against Cedar Ridge on April 23, Cathey scored two goals and dished out two assists. Cathey finished her career with 44 goals and 27 assists across four varsity seasons. In her junior year, she scored a hat trick in a victory over Southern Alamance. Her older brother, Alden, is a lacrosse player at Arcadia University in Pennsylvania. Cathey will graduate next week having been an important part of some of the most successful teams in Orange women’s soccer history.

Orange Panther of the Week: Caroline Cathey

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior striker Caroline Cathey. This season, the Orange women’s soccer team hosted a game in the state playoffs for the first time since 2017. Fittingly, in her final game in Hillsborough, Cathey scored a goal as the Lady Panthers defeated Southern Nash 7-0 in the opening round of the state playoffs.

It may not have looked like a perfect night for Orange women’s soccer, but it sure felt that way.

The rain that fell steadily throughout Monday would have made it a gloomy atmosphere on many occasions, but this was the first home playoff game for Orange women’s soccer in eight years.

The Orange lacrosse team made sure a proper playoff atmosphere was in place. As the rain fell at opening whistle, the players stood in the bleachers and chanted like it was El Classico between Real Madrid and Barcelona playing on a pitch in Hillsborough.

Quite possibly, it was the final home game for a senior class that has taken Orange women’s soccer to places they’ve never reached. For Sullivan Gaddy, she may have saved the best of her accomplished career for last.

Gaddy, Orange’s leading scorer, scored a season-high five goals as the Lady Panthers rolled past Southern Nash 7-0 in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. It was Orange’s first home state playoff win since 2015, when they defeated Cleveland in the second round.

The Lady Panthers improved to 12-7 and will travel to Kill Devil Hills to face First Flight, the champions of the Northeastern Coastal Conference, in the second round on Thursday. The Nighthawks defeated West Johnston 5-0 in the opening round on Monday.

Orange, the #13 seed in the East Region, won its first state playoff game since they defeated Cape Fear in the second round of the 2022 State Playoffs. Gaddy, who was a freshman on that night three years ago, scored a goal against the Colts in Fayetteville.

It was Gaddy’s fourth hat trick of the season. She now has 32 goals on the season. Gaddy has scored 52 goals since the start of her junior year.

Gaddy came out of the game with ten minutes remaining to see a freshman, Samantha Gover, score her first playoff goal assisted by Molly Kruse. Gaddy cheered the loudest as Gover achieved the milestone on a soggy field.

“It’s just a full circle,” Gaddy said. “I just stood over there the last few minutes and thought how amazing this was. We deserve everything we did tonight. As for me, I played my heart out on the field and it made it worth it.”

On Monday night, Gaddy notched the game-winning goal in the 19th minute off an assist from her classmate, Cora Bailey. Gaddy added another goal off a feed from Ella McCay to make it 2-0 in the first half.

“It’s so awesome to watch them grow as players,” said Orange head coach Jacki Mignosa, who was coaching the junior varsity team the last time Orange won a home state playoff game. “Every year, we’ve said our goal is to have a home playoff game. This is the first year we’ve done it. To have the playoff win at home is just icing on the cake. It was so awesome the lacrosse players would show up like that.”

McCay would assist on another goal assisted by senior Caroline Cathey. Gaddy completed the hat trick to put the Lady Panthers ahead 4-0. Her fourth goal was assisted by Lucy Mignosa. Fittingly, Bailey found Gaddy for her fifth goal to put the Lady Panthers ahead 6-0.

First Flight is 19-2 with only one loss to a team from the state of North Carolina. Orange will arrive to Kill Devil Hills battle tested. The top two teams in the 3A East Region RPI rankings are Western Alamance and Eastern Alamance, both conference rivals of Orange.

“I think our conference is one of the strongest in the state,” Mignosa said. “It definitely prepares us wherever we go, however far we go.”

Four years ago, Sullivan Gaddy, Caroline Cathey and Cora Bailey were regular players for the first Orange women’s soccer team to reac the third round of the 3A State Playoffs.

Now, they’re seniors. On Monday night, they will play in the first state playoff match hosted by Orange women’s soccer in eight years.

On Friday, the Orange women’s soccer team received a #13 seed for the 3A State Playoffs. They will face #20 Southern Nash from The Big East Conference on Monday night in Hillsborough. The Lady Panthers finished the regular season in third place in the Central Conference with a 7-5 record. In its final home game of the season, Orange defeated Southern Alamance 3-2 off an overtime goal from Gaddy assisted by Cathey.

In 2022, Gaddy led the team with 13 goals as Orange defeated Harnett Central and Cape Fear in the 3A State Playoffs, its best postseason run ever. In the third round, the Lady Panthers were in a tight game at Walter Williams in Burlington before goalkeeper Abby Monteith suffered an injury early in the second half, knocking her out of the game. The Lady Dawgs wound up winning 3-2.

The last time Orange hosted a state playoff game, they lost to Jacksonville 2-0 on May 10, 2017.

This season, Gaddy has led the Lady Panthers with 25 goals with 13 assists. She had three hat tricks, including the win over Southern Alamance on April 30 where her third goal was the game-winner.

Cathey, the younger sister of former Orange lacrosse and cross country runner Alden Cathey, has 15 goals and eight assists. Bailey has scored eight goals, including two in Orange’s win over Person on May 2 in Roxboro.

The winner of Orange-Southern Nash will face the winner of #4 First Flight vs. #29 West Johnston in the second round. Orange hasn’t won a state playoff game since defeating Cape Fear in Fayetteville in 2022. Last year, the Lady Panthers lost to Eastern Alamance in the opening round.

Cedar Ridge, who finished the season with consecutive wins over Voyager Academy and Williams, also earned a spot in the 3A State Playoffs for the second year in a row. The Red Wolves received a #17 seed and travel to Richlands on Monday night. It will be the second straight year that the Wildcats and the Red Wolves have met in the opening round.

Last year, the Red Wolves won a state playoff game for the first time since 2018 when they defeated Richlands 3-1 in Hillsborough. Katie Paulakonis, in her only season with Cedar Ridge, scored two goals Celine Galla added another as the Red Wolves won under first-year head coach Sam Semerzier.

It was also the first time Cedar Ridge hosted a state playoff game since 2018.

This season, Paulakonis didn’t play shortly after she committed to Division I Bellarmine University. Sophomore Kate Finnegan stepped in and led the team with 28 goals this season. Finnegan also has 14 assists and leads the team with 70 points.

This season, Finnegan has four hat tricks. In March, she had three straight games of scoring four goals, starting with Northwood in a 9-6 win on March 3. She also scored four goals against Durham School of the Arts in a 6-2 win on March 6. On March 8, Finnegan had another four goal game in a victory over Southern Nash in Wilson.

Senior Fleury Nicholson, who has been on the varsity for four years, has scored 17 goals this season. In her career, Nicholson has scored 59 goals and 33 assists. As a junior, Nicholson scored 19 goals.

The winner of Cedar Ridge at Richlands will face the winner of #1 Western Alamance vs. #32 Triton, which will take place in Elon. Western Alamance won the Central Conference championship with an overall 18-0-1 record. They went 11-0-1 in conference play with the lone tie against Eastern Alamance.

It will be the second time in less than a week that a team to Cedar Ridge will travel to Richlands. Last Thursday, the Cedar Ridge softball team faced the Wildcats in the second round of the 3A State Playoffs.

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.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior forward Sullivan Gaddy. It’s the third time that Gaddy has been named Panther of the Week. Gaddy has been one of the most decorated Orange players in the history of the program from the time she first stepped onto the pitch as a freshman. In 2022, as a freshman, she led Orange with 13 goals as the Lady Panthers reached the third round of the 3A State Playoffs. It was the deepest run in the history of a program that started in 1989. Gaddy scored two goals against Harnett Central in the opening round of the state playoffs, a 5-3 Orange win. She assisted on another goal in Orange’s win over Cape Fear in the second round. Last week, Gaddy scored a hat trick as Orange defeated Cedar Ridge in the opening leg of the Hillsborough Derby. On Thursday, the Lady Panthers completed a season sweep of the Red Wolves. Gaddy scored two goals and assisted on another. She also scored four goals in a win over Durham School of the Arts on March 21. Lsat fall, Gaddy also was a manager for the Orange men’s team, which reached the 3rd round of the state playoffs and had the most successful season in school history. As she graduates in June, Gaddy will be remembered as one of the most influential players in Orange soccer history.

Orange Panther of the Week: Sullivan Gaddy

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior forward Sullivan Gaddy. It’s the third time that Gaddy has been named Panther of the Week. Gaddy has been one of the most decorated Orange players in the history of the program from the time she first stepped onto the pitch as a freshman.

Orange women’s soccer senior striker Sullivan Gaddy earned the hat trick as the Lady Panthers rolled past Cedar Ridge 8-0 in the opening leg of the Hillsborough Derby at Orange Soccer Park on Monday night. Gaddy scored the only goal of the first half in the 5th minute off a through pass from Cora Bailey. Orange would pour on seven goal in a span of 23 minutes during the second half to secure its first conference win of the season. It was Gaddy’s second hat trick of the season. Bailey would add two goals in the second half. Caroline Cathey, another senior forward, scored on a penalty kick to put the Lady Panthers ahead 4-0 in the second half. Cathey would assist on Bailey’s first goal. Freshman Ella Mccay scored her fist varsity goal to close out the scoring on an assist from another freshman, Madison Edwards. Earlier in the half, Mccay set up Bailey’s second goal. With two of the top teams in the 3A East Region in the Central Conference, Orange has faced a stacked schedule to being the season. They will look to continue the momentum when they host Walter Williams in Hillsborough on Monday night. The Lady Panthers will travel to Cedar Ridge next Thursday for the second leg of the Hillsbrough Derby.

Orange women’s soccer’s Sullivan Gaddy & Cora Bailey discuss win over Cedar Ridge

Orange women’s soccer senior striker Sullivan Gaddy earned the hat trick as the Lady Panthers rolled past Cedar Ridge 8-0 in the opening leg of the Hillsborough Derby at Orange Soccer Park on Monday night. Gaddy scored the only goal of the first half in the 5th minute off a through pass from Cora Bailey.

There was every reason to think the Cedar Ridge women’s soccer was set to end Orange’s domination in the Hillsborough Derby.

The Red Wolves convincingly defeated Walter Williams 5-2 last week in Hillsborough. The Lady Panthers limped into spring break with an 0-4 Central Conference record after falling to Williams 5-4 in Burlington.

On Monday night, none of that mattered.

Once senior Sullivan Gaddy scored off a breakaway courtesy of a through pass from Cora Bailey in the opening minutes, Orange controlled Cedar Ridge once again.

Gaddy earned her second hat trick of the season as Orange scored seven goals in the final 25 minutes of regulation to defeat Cedar Ridge 8-0 at Orange Soccer Stadium.

Senior Caroline Cathey added two goals, including a penalty kick in the second half. She also assisted on a goal from Bailey that put Orange ahead 5-0. Bailey also scored two goals and opened the game with an assist.

Orange (5-5, 1-4 in the Central Conference) earned its eighth straight win over the Red Wolves with its second-highest goal output of the year. The Lady Panthers scored nine against Durham School of the Arts in the second-opener on March 3.

Orange is 8-0-1 against Cedar Ridge since 2019. The Red Wolves’ last win over Orange came on April 17, 2019.

“I’m never surprised by our conference,” said Orange coach Jacki Mignosa. “It just ping-pongs back and forth as far as who wins, who loses. Cedar is a good team this year. I never underestimate Cedar Ridge because it’s such a rivalry. Everybody is hyped up. I always believe we have very good players.”

The opening five minutes went end-to-end. Orange goalkeeper Alexis Stephens saved a penalty kick in the third meeting, then triggered a transition opportunity which led to Bailey finding Gaddy, who tucked the ball in the right corner of the net.

Gaddy has 12 goals on the season. She has scored 32 goals over the past two seasons.

Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Ellamarie Perel was busy throughout the first half but limited Orange to just one goal in the opening 40 minutes. Moments after Gaddy scored the opener, Cathey took a pass from Gaddy in the box but got rubbed off the ball by Red Wolves’ centerback Addison Reiniche, allowing Perel to secure the ball.

Following the penalty kick save by Stephenson, Cedar Ridge’s best opportunity to score came from sophomore Kate Finnegan, who took a throw-in from Fleury Nicholson at the top of the penalty area. Stephenson rushed in from the six-yard box to smother the ball. In the 31st minute, Finnegan found Alex Tong, who fed Nicholson from 20 yards away. Her shot floated over the crossbar.

After Orange took a 1-0 lead to the half, Finnegan took a pass from Nicholson and took off on a breakaway but the shot sailed over the net.

In the 55th minute, the dam burst free. Emma Edwards took a pass from Gaddy and found the heart of the net from 15 yards away. Moments later, Stephens got a rare goalkeeper assist when she jump started the offense with a quick pass to Gaddy, who scored her second goal on a breakaway with 22:36 remaining to put Orange ahead 3-0.

After Cathey’s penalty kick, Bailey added her first tally off a pass from Cathey. Gaddy completed her hat trick on an unassisted goal.

Bailey scored her second goal off a pass from Ella Mccay. Later, Mccay scored her first goal off a pass from fellow freshman Madison Edwards.

“I believe we’ve come together as a team and learned to trust each other,” Mignosa said. “They have learned it is better to know and appreciate each other’s strengths and know each other’s weaknesses. The thing is they have to trust and believe each other that they can win.”

Orange will host Seaforth on Wednesday night.

Cedar Ridge returns home to face Person on Wednesday.

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Photo by Bradly Nicholson 

Matchups between Orange and Cedar Ridge come and go. Some are competitive. Some aren’t.

On a night like Wednesday, it serves as a reminder that having the crosstown rivals in the same league can be a wonderful thing.

In what may have been the best matchup in women’s soccer in the history of the rivalry, the two teams combined for four goals in two, 10-minute overtime sessions.

With Orange trailing 5-4, junior Caroline Cathey took a short return pass off a corner kick from Lily Crayton and lofted it up from 25 yards. The ball bent under the crossbar and over the outstretched hands of Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Ellamarie Perel into the nylon. It was the final equalizer in a game full of them.

The game would end in a 5-5 tie, but it was fiercely contested down to the very last second in front of two grandstands full of fans that lived and died with every loose ball at Orange Soccer Field.

In the final scoring attempt, Orange senior Ella Wimsatt sent a long ball that led to a chase between Cathey and Cedar Ridge wingback Rachel Alverson. The two players collided as the buzzer sounded. Cathey was shaken up and was checked on by Alverson and several teammates as the long battle ended.

Orange has now gone unbeaten in its last eight games against the Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge’s last victory over the Lady Panthers came on April 17, 2019.

Cedar Ridge junior Fleury Nicholson finished with two goals. Cathey finished with two goals for Orange (7-4-1, 4-3-1 in the Central Conference).

It was yet another battle in a Central Conference that has turned incredibly competitive over the final weeks of the regular season. Both Cedar Ridge and Orange had wins over defending 3A State Champion Eastern Alamance last week. Orange is currently ranked #10 in the 3A East Region, with Cedar Ridge at #11.

Cedar Ridge appeared set to end Orange’s dominance in the rivalry when they bolted out to a 3-1 lead. Rose Garysmith, a Red Wolf centerback, completed the opening goal when she took a corner kick from freshman Kate Finnegan and kneed the ball into the lower right corner past Orange netminder Makayla Davis in the 16th minute.

Orange’s leading scorer, Elliana Sullivan Gaddy, tied it up after she took a throw-in from Wimsatt and chipped it past Perel from the right corner of the box from 17 yards.

Cedar Ridge had six corner kicks in the opening half. After Wimsatt disposed of a corner by Finnegan, Cedar Ridge’s Katie Paulakonis was grabbed by Orange’s Channing Mahaney in the penalty area, leading to a foul. Nicholson’s first goal came off the subsequent penalty kick, putting the Red Wolves back ahead 2-1.

Orange took the kickoff to the second half and Sullivan Gaddy’s attempt was blocked by Alverson. That sparked a quick Cedar Ridge counter where Paulakonis fed Nicholson, who switched to her right foot for a better angle and fired it past Davis from 19 yards with 38:29 remaining in regulation.

Orange controlled possession for the next few minutes until Cora Bailey scored to put Orange within a goal. Sullivan Gaddy’s corner led to a failed clearance by the Red Wolves. Bailey pounced on the loose ball and drilled it into the heart of the net.

Orange evened the game in dramatic, if somewhat controversial, fashion. The referee’s assistant ruled Orange got the ball on a throw-in with 1:48 remaining. Sullivan Gaddy launched down the right flank and fired in a shot from 20 yards with 1:10 remaining in regulation to tie it up at 3-3.

Cathey gave Orange its only lead of the night when she was fouled by Adelynn Nasseri in the box just 16 seconds into overtime. Cathey scored the penalty kick to put Orange ahead and she fired it into the upper left corner.

Finnegan, who had two assists in the game, took a throw-in and scored in the upper left corner with 3:49 remaining in the first overtime to even it up at 4-4.

Finnegan wasn’t done. With 1:32 remaining in the opening overtime, Finnegan took a loose ball and fed Paulakonis inside the nine-yard box. Paulakonis tucked it in with ease to put the Red Wolves back ahead 5-4.