Local high school soccer coaches are not only teachers of the game. Many are also fans.
Chapel Hill’s Jason Curtis, as well as his legendary mentor Ron Benson, wear the colors of Liverpool of England’s Premier League. For Curtis and Benson, times are good. The Tigers won the 3A State Championship last November. Last spring, Liverpool claimed its first UEFA Champions League title/European Cup in 15 years when they defeated English rival Tottenham 2-0.
It would be an embellishment to call Cedar Ridge Coach Chris Walker a fan of Sunderland. Doing so would seem to be a pathway of suffering and perhaps long-term therapy.
Sunderland was a member of the Premier League as recently as 2016. Now, they’ve suffered consecutive years of relegation (when a team finishes in the bottom three spots in the Premier League, they get sent down to the English Championship, essentially AAA baseball) Now, Sunderland is in League One (AA baseball)
But Walker certainly can relate to Sunderland. He’s coached a team in the shadow of giants like Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill an Carrboro. More often than not, he’s taking undermanned teams against schools that often have 60-70 players trying out in early August.
Nights like Wednesday night are when it’s most rewarding.
Facing crosstown rival Orange, the Red Wolves trailed 3-1 with 17:00 remaining. That’s when freshman Nicholas Frank scored two goals in a span of 43 seconds to even the game.
Cedar Ridge (3-5-1, 1-2 in the Big 8) would go on to win in penalty kicks 4-3 to beat Orange at Red Wolves Stadium for the first time since 2015.
Even more remarkably, Cedar Ridge pulled off the comeback despite leading scorer Brandon Garcia getting injured in the final 20 minutes. Garcia, who had a seven-game scoring streak to open the season, left the game and din’t return until the 2nd overtime period.
Fittingly, Frank laced the game-winning penalty into the middle right side of the net. Cedar Ridge junior goalkeeper Ty Corbin made the save on Orange’s final attempt to start a wild celebration among the Cedar Ridge players.
Orange (4-4, 1-2) had a chance to score in the opening 5-minute overtime session, but Elliott Sikes’ wormburner from 18 yards clipped the outside left post.
“I told our guys at halftime we had to go back to our game plan,” said Walker, his voice hoarse from an intense night off coaching. “I pulled Nick in the first half because he told me ‘Coach, I’m not getting the ball.’ And I asked him what he was going to do? I told him he had to do more to get the ball.”
And he did. On consecutive possessions in the 2nd half, Frank received the ball after 20-yard runs. His first goal came from 20 yards away after Orange’s goalkeeper came out of net as Frank collected a gorgeous balll from Reese Weaver.
Less than a minute later, Frank received another pass to even the game.
Orange led penalties 3-2 after three rounds, but Corbin made saves on the last two attempts.
Garcia, Weaver, Erickson Thole and Frank scored penalties for Cedar Ridge.