Orange High School

The third time wasn’t the charm for Orange against its archrival, but it was much, much closer.

In the end, the Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team came away with its first win in the state team tournament since 2016.

In a dual match that came down to the final doubles match, Raven Mowles-Airing and Annabeth Lundberg captured the #3 doubles battle against Violet Shaw and Ellie Wilson 7-6, winning the tiebreaker 7-3. Cedar Ridge won the overall match 5-4 against the Lady Panthers at Red Wolves Tennis Courts in the opening round of the 3A State Dual Team Playoffs.

Cedar Ridge, the #14 seed, advances to face Rocky Mount in the round of 32 on Monday.

Orange ends the season 13-6, the fifth time in six years that Orange has won at least ten dual matches in a season.

It is Cedar Ridge’s first win in the State Tournament since November 1, 2016, when they defeated Walter Williams 5-3 in Hillsborough.

Cedar Ridge swept the regular season series against Orange, winning on September 5 and September 27, each time by a score of 6-3. The final match, at Panthers Tennis Courts, was an intense affair where points were replayed because of various objections by coaches and players. It led to Orange coach Justin Webb and Cedar Ridge coach Steve Mayhew taking the unusual step of acting as judges, standing on opposite sides of the net, to preside over a doubles match. Afterwards, vibes from the Cedar Ridge victory spilled over onto social media, namely on Instagram.

With that experience likely in the back of their minds, Orange played with a purpose. Of the three doubles matches, two of them went to tiebreakers. Four of the nine matches overall had tiebreakers. The doubles team of Erinn and Shannon Sollars won at #1 doubles match over Cedar Ridge’s Cameron Mayhew and Adeline Cummings 7-6, winning the tiebreaker 7-5.

Mayhew and Cummings handed the Sollars sisters its only two losses of the regular season. On September 5, Mayhew & Cummings won 8-5. At Orange, Mayhew & Cummings prevailed 8-4.

Cedar Ridge won the other two doubles matches to advance to the second round. Junior Ella Caltabiano and Catherine Ballenger defeated Molly Kruse and Makayla Davis 8-6 at #2 doubles to even the dual match 4-4. The victory by Mowles-Airing and Lundberg set Cedar Ridge to the second round.

Cedar Ridge’s Cameron Mayhew won at #1 singles over Erinn Sollars 6-4, 6-1. Mayhew improved to 14-2 on the season.

Orange’s Shannon Sollars evened the match with a victory over Caltabiano 6-3, 6-0. Sollars, a junior who is now 15-1 on the season in singles play, will likely be the Lady Panthers #1 singles player in 2024.

Cummings gave the Red Wolves the advantage again when she defeated Davis 7-6 (7-2), 7-5, which proved to be a huge victory. It was the third matchup between Cummings and Davis this year. They had split their previous matchups, with Davis winning 10-7 on September 5. On September 27, Cummings won 6-0, 4-6, 11-9 (the third set was a 10-point tiebreaker).

Wilson, an Orange freshman, squared the match at #4 singles with a victory over Mowles-Airing 6-3, 7-6 (7-4). Orange sophomore Molly Kruse defeated Ballenger 6-0, 6-1. Cedar Ridge’s Lundberg defeated Violet Shaw 6-4, 6-2 to gain a split in the singles matches.

The Red Wolves 14 dual match victories are the most they’ve had since the 2016 squad went 19-2, winning the Big 8 Conference Championship over teams like Chapel Hill and Northwood.

On Friday, the Mideast Regionals were held at the Burlington Tennis Center. Annie Lieberman of Terry Sanford, the #2 overall seed, defeated Mayhew 6-0, 6-3 in the opening round.

For Orange, Erin and Shannon Sollars narrowly missed qualifying for the 3A State Championships for the second straight year. In the opening round, the Sollars defeated Andrea Romero and Sophie McLean of Harnett Central 6-0, 6-1 in the opening round. In the quarterfinals, the Sollars faced a Central Carolina Conference rival. Lindley Oler and Lauren Turner of Walter Williams won a tight match, beating the Sollars 6-4, 7-6 (11-9).

The Sollars sisters reached the 3A State Tournament quarterfinals in 2022.

Makayla Davis and Molly Kruse also qualified for regionals, falling to Shea Bieniek and Anna Piland of Cape Fear in the opening round. Bieniek and Piland would go on to qualify for the state championships.

The seniors on the Orange volleyball team have accomplished something that no team in 18 years has done–win a conference championship. Last week, Orange celebrated senior night with a sweep of Walter Williams. The Lady Panthers have set a school record by winning 20 consecutive matches. Senior Ella Wimsatt has been instrumental in Orange’s most successful season in a generation She leads the team with 340 kills going into the Central Carolina Conference Tournament. She is second on the squad with 279 digs. Libero Sadye Porter returned to the team in August and has been an invaluable defensive presence. She leads the team with 364 digs and also has 38 aces, third on the team. Josie Crawford has been a regular rotation player for new head coach Hope Heverly. Crawford has 128 digs and is another valuable defensive presence. Blessiny Deronette has also played regularly in her first year on the varsity squad. Orange is looking at being a #1 seed for the 3A State Tournament that begins on Saturday. If the Lady Panthers take the top seed, it will be for the first time in school history. Coming up tonight, Orange will face Cedar Ridge for the CCC Tournament championship at Panther Gymnasium.

Orange’s Ella Wimsatt, Sadye Porter, Josie Crawford & Blessiny Derronette discuss Senior night

The seniors on the Orange volleyball team have accomplished something that no team in 18 years has done–win a conference championship. Last week, Orange celebrated senior night with a sweep of Walter Williams. The Lady Panthers have set a school record by winning 20 consecutive matches.

If it wasn’t clear that Hillsborough is the Volleyball Capital of the Central Carolina Conference, it is now.

For the second straight year, Orange and Cedar Ridge will face off in the CCC Tournament championship game tonight at Orange High.

Orange and Cedar Ridge competed in opposite ends of town on Tuesday night in their respective semifinal matches, both teams sweeping their opposition.

Orange defeated Western Alamance on scores of 25-14, 25-8, 25-15. For the third time this season, Cedar Ridge defeated Person 25-11, 25-22, 25-18.

Orange, the CCC regular season champion, won its 20th consecutive match to improve to 21-3. Senior Ella Wimsatt finished with 12 kills and 31 digs. Sophomore Aubrey Jordan registered 14 kills while middle blocker Ava Wilkerson had 13 kills. Sophomore setter Katie Silcott, who surpassed 1,000 career assists last week in a match against Walter Williams, finished with a double-double of 31 assists and 14 digs.

Orange used a 6-0 run to pull away in the opening set. After Wilkerson scored off an assist from Silcott to even the set 4-4, junior Abby Silinski served up two aces while Wilkerson scored on a block, leading to a Warrior timeout after Orange increased its lead to 9-4. The Lady Panthers scored nine of the last ten points to close out the frame, ending with Wimsatt’s kill off a set by Silcott on set point.

In the third set, Western Alamance (12-8) jumped out to a 12-5 lead following consecutive kills from Haley Clayton and another from Avery Wilson. After an Orange timeout, the Lady Panthers reeled off eight of the next nine points. Trailing 12-6, Wilmsatt earned a huge point on a kill to conclude a long rally where senior Josie Crawford made three crucial digs. Back-to-back points by Jordan and Wimsatt evened the set at 13-13. Orange finished the match on a 13-2 run, which included three kills each from Wilkerson and Jordan.

It was Orange’s third win over the Warriors this season.

At Red Wolves Gymnasium, Cedar Ridge sophomore Claire Hargett finished with 14 kills and ten digs against the Rockets. Senior Graylinn Serge had 12 kills and 19 digs. Senior Rachel Alverson, who also surpassed 1,000 career assists against Williams on Monday, finished with 35 assists and ten digs.

Leading 10-5 in the opening set, Cedar Ridge pulled away with a 9-0 run. Serge had three straight kills in the spree, while Alverson had a rare kill assisted by Natasha Buchler-Fosado. Hargett scored set point off a feed from Alverson.

The most competitive set was the second, where Person led 11-9 at one point. Cedar Ridge responded with six straight points to take a 15-11 lead, which included an ace from Alverson and two kills each from Serge and sophomore Kayla Stoll. Person (12-9) responded with consecutive kills from senior Summer Moore to trim the Red Wolf lead to 19-16. A return by Cedar Ridge that went wide reduced their lead to 21-20, but Serge scored a big kill followed by an ace from Alverson to increase the lead to 23-20. Hargett scored set point on a strong swing near the far post.

Cedar Ridge started the third set with a 9-3 spurt, starting with a kill from Ellie Woolson. Buchler-Fosado had an ace while Hargett spiked down back-to-back points, leading to a Person timeout. The Rockets got their deficit down to 15-7 after a point by Moore, but never seriously challenged in the final set.

Cedar Ridge and Orange have played in all three CCC Tournaments dating back to 2021. The Red Wolves defeated the Lady Panthers in the semifinals of the 2021 tournament. Last year, Cedar Ridge defeated Orange in the championship match 3-1 on scores of 25-12, 25-10, 17-25 and 25-17. The set that Orange won last year ended Cedar Ridge’s string of 62 consecutive sets won.

Orange has won both matchups against the Red Wolves this season. Orange won its first conference championship in volleyball since 2005.

Following a regular season where they went 13-2, Orange’s most accomplished doubles team in history will try to qualify for the states doubles championship this weekend.

This time, Erinn and Shannon Sollars won’t be the only doubles team from Orange represented in the Mideast Regionals at the Burlington Tennis Center.

Last Wednesday in the Central Carolina Conference Tennis Tournament, Makayla Davis and Molly Kruse qualified for regionals with two victories.

The CCC Tournament, unlike past conference tournaments that Orange has been a part of, doesn’t crown an individual and doubles champion. The event simply takes the four finishers in singles and doubles and places them in the Mideast Regional, which starts this Friday at the Burlington Tennis Center.

Orange’s Erinn and Shannon Sollars qualified for regionals for the second consecutive year. The top seed in the conference tournament, the Sollars sisters received a bye into the second round. In their only match of the day, the Sollars defeated Brianna Dale and Kensley Gasaway of Western Alamance 6-0, 6-0.

Davis and Kruse, who compiled an 11-1 record in the regular season, won two matches at the conference championships to qualify for the Mideast Regionals. In the opening round, Davis and Kruse defeated Paicey Cameron & Faith Moore of Southern Alamance 6-0, 6-1. In the second match,. Davis & Kruse punched their ticket to the regionals with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Reagan Williams and Sarah McLaughlin of Western Alamance.

Davis is a senior who was Orange’s regular #3 singles player this season for a squad that made the 3A State Dual Team Tennis Tournament for the third straight year. Kruse is in her first year as a starter after being a regular contributor for the Orange women’s soccer team last spring.

In 2022, the Sollars sisters reached the 3A State Tournament and defeated Ellie Holtzman and Berkeley Geyer of Hickory in the opening round 6-0, 6-2 and reached the quarterfinals. In 2021, Erinn Sollars and Jera Hargove qualified for the 3A State Championships and defeated Dabney Osborne and Emily Mitchum of J.H. Rose 6-4, 6-2.

Hargrove now plays at Tuskegee University in Alabama.

The 3A State Tournament will be held at the Burlington Tennis Center on October 27 & 28.

Men’s Cross Country: In a possible preview of the 3A State Cross Country Championships next month, Gabriel Schmid finished second overall in the NC Runners Elite Cross Country Invitational at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex.

Out of 17 teams, Orange finished second in the team standings. Croatan, a 3A squad that will likely be a top challenger for the Panthers in the state championships, finished first with 69 points Orange finished second with 78 points.

Schmid came in with a time of 16:02.18. The individual winner was Dawson Reeves of Christ School, a private school of of Arden, at 16:00.16. Alden Cathey of Orange finished 18th at 17:08.38. Orange’s Myler Jerman came in 22nd (17:14.21) while sophomore Lucas Van Mater was 23rd (17:14.86). Peter Musser came in 25th (17:17.50).

Edgar Ibarra of Cedar Ridge was the top Red Wolves runner, finishing 71st at 18:28.92. Nathan Walters, Henry Alexander, Grayson Wisenfeld, Michael O’Melia, Jacob Olmstead, Elie Ndahiriwe and William Neuman also ran for the Red Wolves.

The Central Carolina Conference men’s cross country championships will be held today (Wednesday) in Burlington.

Women’s Cross Country: Cedar Ridge’s Naomi Dyreng was the top female runner from a Hillsborough school at the NC Runners Elite Cross Country championships last Saturday. Dyreng finished 13th overall at 20:08.36. Cedar Ridge junior Abigail Klaitman was 22nd at 20:56.30. The Red Wolves’ Kate Finnegan, a freshman, finished 53rd at 23:44.29. The Red Wolves Anna Peterson was 65th (25:04.98) Out of ten teams in the field, Cedar Ridge finished sixth with 158 points.

North Lincoln finished with the team championship with 41 points. Allie Zealand of Pacers Homeschool finished first overall in the women’s race with a time of 17:48.47.

Men’s Soccer: Orange 6, Person 0: For the first time since 2018, the Orange men’s soccer team has posted back-to-back shutouts. On Wednesday night, the Panthers defeated Person 6-0 in Roxboro. Senior Finn Kelly earned his second straight clean sheet. Orange has allowed only one goal over the past three games.

On Monday night, the Panthers defeated Cedar Ridge 2-0 in overtime. Kelly had a season-high 15 saves as the Panthers won the second leg of the Hillsborough Derby.

The victory improves Orange’s chances of advancing to the state playoffs. Orange was eliminated in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs last season by J.H. Rose. Since men’s soccer started at Orange in 1988, the Panthers have never made the state playoffs in back-to-back years. As of Thursday night, Orange was up to #24 in the 3A East RPI rankings, a six-notch jump compared to one week ago.

Orange (6-6-2 overall, 5-3-1 in the Central Carolina Conference) got the opening goal from Daniel Romero, who scored the insurance goal against Cedar Ridge on Monday. Enzo Bruhns, a senior who assisted on Romero’s goal against the Red Wolves, added his first goal of the season in the first half.

Joseph Lopez, a junior who scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Cedar Ridge, added his third goal of the season. Issac Gallegos, Angel Chavez and Issac Gallegos also scored goals for Orange. Yurem Tapia Mendez had two assists on the night. Senior Ryker Stein, Chavez, and Romero also had assists for the Panthers.

The Panthers now have a three-game winning streak. Last week, the Panthers defeated Walter Williams 2-1 in Hillsborough. It is believed to be Orange’s first-ever win over the Bulldogs in men’s soccer. Stein and Mendez scored goals for Orange. Kelly earned the win in net. He finished with seven saves.

Orange will continue its pursuit of a state playoff birth when they face Eno River Academy at the Soccer.com Complex in Efland at 6PM. It’s the first-ever matchup between the two teams in men’s soccer. It will be Orange’s final regular season nonconference game.

Men’s Cross Country: Orange and Cedar Ridge runners were among hundreds of competitors at the Great American Cross Country Festival at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on October 6.

The men’s Race of Champions had 375 competitors. Orange High’s Gabriel Schmid finished 12th with a time of 15:03.30. Schmid was the highest finisher among competitors from a 3A public school. Athens Drive’s Noah Valyo finished first at 14:42.60.

Orange finished 14th among 44 teams that gathered from across the region. Orange sophomore Myles Jermyn came in 90th (16:15.30), while senior Alden Cathey came in 98th (16:17.50). Another Orange sophomore, Lucas Van Mater, finished 142nd (16:39.30). Nolan Hufner, Peter Musser, Cyrus Neal and Alden Viola also competed and finished for Orange.

Belen Jesuit Preparatory School finished first in the men’s team standings.

Schmid, the defending 3A State Individual Champion, will compete again on Saturday during the NC Runners Elite Cross Country Invitational at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville. Schmid won the state championship on that course last November. Once again, Redmon Sports Complex will be the site of the North Carolina High School State Athletic Association state cross country championships next month.

Cedar Ridge’s men’s cross country team competed in the Blue Race. Edgar Ibarra had a season-best time of 17:59.40, which was good enough for 72nd. Ryan Matthews finished 80th

Women’s Cross Country: Also at the Great American Cross Country Festival, Cedar Ridge’s women’s team competed in the 1-Girls Blue Race. Naomi Dyreng finished 13th among 298 competitors with a time of 19:48.50. Abigail Klaitman had a season-best time of 20:05.90 and finished 29th overall. Kate Finnegan, Anna Peterson, Samantha Quade and Lillian Barber also had season best times for the Red Wolves.

Dyreng was the top finisher for Cedar Ridge in the 3A State Championships last November.

Payton Wilson: In his final year at N.C. State, Wilson continues to rack up honors. For September, Wilson was named the National Linebacker of the Month by the Butkus Foundation. In the opening five games of the year, Wilson averaged 11.5 tackles per game, which led the Atlantic Coast Conference. He led the Wolfpack in tackles in all five games. This week, Wilson was named ACC Linebacker of the Week for the third time this season. Against Marshall on Saturday, Wilson had 14 tackles as the Wolfpack defeated the Thundering Herd 48-41 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. Wilson finished with one sack. Wilson also had a fumble recovery for a ten-yard return as the Wolfpack improved to 4-2. Marshall’s top running back came into the game averaging 113 yards per game, but the N.C. State defense held him to 63 yards. Wilson is averaging 11.3 tackles per game, which leads the ACC and is fourth in the Football Bowl Subdivision. This Saturday night, the Wolfpack will travel to Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham to face #17 Duke. It will be the Wolfpack’s first trip to Wallace Wade Stadium since 2013, when Dave Doeren was in first season as the Wolfpack head coach. The Wolfpack is 1-1 in the ACC.

Bryse Wilson: The Milwaukee Brewers season ended in the National League Wildcard Series when the Arizona Diamondbacks swept the best-of-three series at American Family Field. Wilson’s only appearance was in game one, when he retired Gabriel Moreno to ground out to first base for the final out for Arizona. In his first season with Milwaukee, Wilson had a 6-0 record with a 2.58 ERA in 53 appearances, all out of the bullpen. He had three saves. In 76.2 innings of work, Wilson had 61 strikeouts with 22 walks. The Brewers won the National League Central division championship.

Darius Satterfield: Virginia Union defeated Elizabeth City State 42-20 at Roebuck Stadium in Elizabeth City last Saturday. Satterfield had seven punts for an average of 36.9 yards per boot. His longest punt was 47 yards. One was downed inside the 20-yard line. Another went for a touchback. Elizabeth City State is 1-5 overall, 0-4 in the CIAA. They travel to Pennsylvania on Saturday to face Lincoln University.

Trenton Gill: Last Thursday, the Chicago Bears earned its first win of the season with a 40-20 win over the Washington Commanders at FedEx Field in Landover, MD. Gill averaged 43.7 yards on three punts. His longest was 47 yards. One punt was downed inside the 20-yard line. Gill also held on extra points and field goals for placekicker Cairo Santos. The Bears are 1-4 and will host Minnesota at Solider Field this Sunday.

Braxton Mergenthal: The Division III Hampden-Sydney football team bounced back to defeat Ferrum 48-10 at Everett Stadium in Hampden Sydney, VA on Saturday. Mergenthal had a career-high five tackles as the Tigers improved to 3-2 overall. They’re 1-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Hampden-Sydney will travel to face Averett in Danville, VA on Saturday.

Ivy Garner: The Liberty women’s soccer team played to a scoreless tie against Florida International at FIU Soccer Stadium in Miami on Saturday. Garner, who started at midfielder, had one of six shots on net for the Flames. Overall, Liberty had 12 shots. Garner played 73 minutes. Liberty will travel to El Paso, TX to face UTEP in another Conference USA matchup on Sunday. The Flames are 11-1-1 overall, 2-1-1 in Conference USA.

Emerson Talley: The Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team is now ranked #21 in Division II. On Wednesday, the Bears rolled past Coker 7-0 at Moretz Sports Campus in Hickory. Talley started at midfield and played 45 minutes for Lenoir-Rhyne. On Saturday, the Bears defeated Carson-Newman 3-0 at McCown Field in Jefferson City, TN. Talley started and played 65 minutes for the Bears, who are 10-0-3, 8-0 in the South Atlantic Conference. Lenoir-Rhyne will host Newberry in Hickory on Saturday night.

Lottie Scully: The Binghamton volleyball setter was named the America East Setter of the Week on Tuesday. Last week, Scully tallied 75 assists and 28 digs as Binghamton defeated the University of New Hampshire and Bryant University. On Tuesday, Binghamton defeated Long Island University 3-1 on scores of 22-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-18 at NEC Front Row in Brooklyn. Scully had 43 assists and 15 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. She also had three kills and an ace. Binghamton is 10-8 overall, 3-0 in America East. They will face the University of Albany on Saturday.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior volleyball liberto Sadye Porter. After a year away from the Orange volleyball team in 2022, Porter returned to the team for her senior season under new head coach Hope Heverly. Her return has greatly helped the Orange defense with a team-high 342 digs. She also has 35 aces, which is third on the team. Her return has helped Orange to possibly its most successful volleyball season in school history. Last week, Orange secured its first conference championship in 18 years when they defeated Southern Alamance in Hillsborough. After its win over Walter Williams on Wednesday night, Orange has won 18 in a row and secured a 20-win season. In her sophomore season in 2022, Porter led the team with 299 digs. Orange has secured the #1 seed in the CCC Tournament. Orange will receive a bye into the semifinals, where they will face either Western Alamance, Southern Alamance or Eastern Alamance next Tuesday. If Orange wins, they will host the conference tournament championship match next Wednesday. Orange will also host a match in the opening round of the 3A State Tournament on October 21 in Hillsborough. Orange is currently ranked #1 in the 3A East RPI rankings. If the Lady Panthers maintain that ranking, they will have home-court advantage throughout the state playoffs. Orange will try to complete its first undefeated conference season in school history against Eastern Alamance on Thursday in Mebane.

Orange Panther of the Week: Sadye Porter

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior volleyball liberto Sadye Porter. After a year away from the Orange volleyball team in 2022, Porter returned to the team for her senior season under new head coach Hope Heverly. Her return has greatly helped the Orange defense with a team-high 342 digs.

In the midst of a wide open race in the Central Carolina Conference, there isn’t much separating a first-place team from a fifth-place squad.

Thus, it isn’t surprising that the battle for first place will likely boil down to the final night of the regular season on October 23. Some late heroics from Orange’s Joseph Lopez made a tight battle even more narrow on Monday night.

Following a scoreless regulation, Lopez scored the game-winning goal in the 91st minute as Orange defeated Cedar Ridge 2-0 in overtime to win the second leg of the Hillsborough Derby. Orange senior goalkeeper Finn Kelly made a season-high 15 saves to earn his second clean sheet of the season.

It was the first CCC loss of the season for Cedar Ridge (11-3-2, 7-1-1 in the CCC). The loss put Cedar Ridge into a tie with Western Alamance for first place in the CCC. The Red Wolves will travel to Elon to face the Warriors on Monday night.

Orange (5-6-2, 5-3-1) used its defense to shutout a Red Wolves team that piled up a season-best seven goals in its previous game against Southern Alamance. The Panthers have allowed only four goals in its last four games going into Wednesday’s road trip to Person.

Orange immediately threatened following the kickoff to the opening 10-minute overtime. Junior Angel Chavez sent a diagonal long ball to the left sideline that Dallas Johnson ran down before it rolled over the boundary. Johnson played it back to senior Ryker Stein, who unleashed a right-footed shot that sailed just below the crossbar. Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Erik Galunas made a diving save.

Orange’s Daniel Romero, positioned along the right post, made a bicycle kick attempt on the rebound that was briefly put aside by the Red Wolves’ Salomon Hernandez. Yurem Tapia Mendez kept possession in the box for Orange and attempted a shot that was blocked by Giovani Yanez. Hernandez slid and knocked the ball away. The ball went off Mendez’s leg right to Lopez, standing off to the left eight yards away, who fired a quick shot into the corner past a diving Galunas with 9:05 remaining in the first overtime. The entire Orange team chased Lopez to the sideline, where several Panther fans joined in the celebration.

Cedar Ridge’s best attempt for an equalizer came with 6:27 remaining in the second overtime. Senior Abazar Babiker sent a worm burner of a long ball ahead to midfielder Dominic McNerney. The subsequent throw-in by McNerney found Gael Antunez-Nunez, who fired a line drive from 12 yards away along the right side of the area. Kelly was positioned along the near post to stop the shot with both hands.

Minutes later, after Kelly halted another long pass intended for Antunez-Nunez, Johnson took a free kick following a Cedar Ridge offsides infraction. Mendez won a ball off a rebound at midfield and triggered a pass to Emmanuel Mil Cruz, who started an attack up the field. Enzo Bruhns drew two Red Wolves at the top of the box, then found Daniel Romero along the right edge. Romero chipped the ball from 17 yards away past a sprawling Galunas for the insurance goal, Romero’s third of the season.

“We just tried to take away some crossing lanes,” said Orange coach Palmer Bowman. “Our centerbacks, Dallas Johnson and Jay Parker, did a good job of cutting off their passes. I was pleased with our defensive effort tonight.”

Last month, Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 2-1 at Red Wolves Stadium behind goals from Jonam Juarez and McNerney.

“We didn’t execute,” said Cedar Ridge head coach Chauncey Brummells. “All credit to Palmer and Orange. I think they had a good gameplan tonight. They were dangerous on the set pieces. Dominic (McNerney), Sal (Salomon Hernandez) and Marc Reid did a really good job defending. Credit to Orange. They played a really good game. We had chances and just couldn’t finish.”

Days after its first victory over Walter Williams in decades, the Orange men’s soccer team knocked off Cedar Ridge 2-0 in overtime during the second leg of the Hillsborough Derby at Orange Soccer Field on Monday night. Joseph Lopez scored the game-winning goal, the second of his Orange career, in the 81st minute as the Panthers became the first team from the Central Carolina Conference to beat the Red Wolves this season. Daniel Romero added an insurance goal in the 98th minute as Orange improved to 5-6-2, 4-3-1 in the CCC. Senior goalkeeper Finn Kelly made a season-high 15 saves, including one with 6:27 remaining in the second overtime on a shot by Gael Antunez-Nunez along the near post that could have easily tied the game. With three games remaining in the regular season, Orange is in good shape to make the state playoffs for the second straight season. Senior co-Captain Emmanuel Mil Cruz leads the team with four goals in 2023. Orange will journey to Roxboro to face Person on Wednesday. The Panthers will be shooting for its third straight victory in the CCC.

Orange soccer’s Emmanuel Mil Cruz & Finn Kelly discuss beating Cedar Ridge in Hillsborough Derby

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