Cedar Ridge’s jump to the brink of the Big 8 Soccer Championship paid off with a dual honor for the team’s coach and second-leading scorer on Monday.
Red Wolves midfielder Chris Walker was named Big 8 Player of the Year on Monday. Walker led the team with nine assists, and added ten goals this season for a Cedar Ridge team that finished 13-6-2 this season. They went 9-12 in 2013.
Because of that improvement, Walker’s father, Chris Walker Sr. was voted Big 8 Coach of the Year. It was Walker’s third season as the head coach at CRHS. The Red Wolves made the 3-A state playoffs, defeating Northwood in the opening round. They fell to Cleveland 2-0 in the 2nd round.
Joining Walker on the All-Big 8 team was goalkeeper Brandon Boss, striker Ivan Carbajal, midfielder Lachlan McGrath and striker Noah Leesnitzer.
Carbajal led Cedar Ridge in scoring with with 20 goals and 45 points. Leesnitzer played 19 games and added five goals. McGrath added seven goals, which was third on the squad.
Orange, which defeated Chapel Hill for the first time in school history this season, placed centerback Chandler Compton, striker Alfredo Rodriguez and midfielder Lionel Reid-Shaw on the All-Big 8 squad.
Rodriguez finished with ten goals this season. Reid-Shaw led the squad with 15 goals and 14 assists. Compton was the 2nd Hillsboroughsports.com Orange Panther of the Week.