For any new coach’s first victory at his/her new school, there’s usually a ceremonial game ball that the players present to their leader.
In light of current circumstances, Cedar Ridge’s men’s soccer team may have been doing head coach Andrew Berg a favor by skipping that part Monday night.
After the rainiest winter in 37 years across the Triangle, the field at Red Wolves Stadium has taken a beating. It hasn’t helped that there’s currently three different sports being played on the field, with women’s soccer set to start next week.
In the aftermath of Cedar Ridge’s 6-1 win over Orange in the Hillsborough Derby on Monday night, the soccer balls were in better condition than your standard Nerf soccer ball that had been ruined by your dog during the 1980s, but only slightly.
In lieu of a game ball, Berg told his team to salute the fans in attendance, some of whom carried banners and signs to honor their respective seniors.
“I really wanted that win for the boys,” Berg said. “It’s what we’ve been looking for the whole season. We finally saw everything we wanted to put together for the first time.”
It was also special because it was seniors who produced on Senior Night. Victor Salazar scored two goals and an assist, while classmate Danilo Babchencko added another goal as the Red Wolves claimed its first win of the season.
There was also a measure of redemption from what many of the Red Wolves’ players thought was a missed opportunity the week prior. In the first matchup between the two teams on February 25 at Orange Soccer Park, they played to a scoreless tie through two overtimes. Salazar, Nicholas Frank, Iliah Babchenko and Chris Mendez all had shots on goal, but none of them found the net.
“We were 100% the better team that night,” said Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Ty Corbin, who is also playing lacrosse this winter. “We just weren’t playing 100%. Tonight, we did play 100% and we proved it on the scoreboard.”
“Any team, especially if it’s your rival, is going to be a tough game,” Berg said. “I thought our boys came in a little over heated in that game. We made a lot of silly mistakes in that game that we corrected tonight and it showed.”
Berg inherited a young team used to playing for longtime coach Chris Walker, who watched from the stands on Monday night. Berg, a former assistant coach at Thomas University in Georgia, has dealt with the obstacles of a limited season because of the pandemic.
On Monday night, Salazar opened the scoring off a kick restart when Orange was called for a pass back to the goalkeeper, who picked the ball up. Off a free kick from 18 yards, Frank found Salazar, who sent away a low finish that rolled into the right corner of the net to give Cedar Ridge a 1-0 lead going into halftime.
It took only 31 seconds for Cedar Ridge to score in a lively second half. Sophomore Michael Garcia Salazar played a ball deep towards the left corner that appeared to be rolling over the end line. An Orange defender stopped running, but Frank did not and chip the ball over the end line.
Orange (0-4-1) controlled the following 15 minutes of play, but Corbin made one key save after another.
“They were pressuring us and we could have easily given up a goal or two,” Berg said. “Overall, we had the talent to make up for the little mistakes we’ve done and we had the goals to show for it.”
With 14:12 remaining, Victor Salazar tallied his second goal off an assist from sophomore Chris Mendez. Two minutes later, Mendez won a dual in the box and slammed the ball past Orange’s goalkeeper to push the Cedar Ridge lead to 4-0.
Senior Jonathan Clemente added a fifth Cedar Ridge goal in the waning minutes. Danilo Babchencko ended the scoring with his first goal of the season off an assist from Jorge Salazar.
The Red Wolves (1-5-1) will finish the season on Thursday night with a home game against Southern Durham. Orange will travel to Northern Durham to conclude the season. It will also be the final sporting event where Jason Franklin represents Orange. Franklin was named Most Valuable Player for the Panthers’ basketball team this week. He has played basketball and soccer at the varsity level since he was a freshmen.