There were plenty of near misses for the Orange and Cedar Ridge men’s soccer teams in 2021.
After finishing with its first winning conference record since 2017, Cedar Ridge was the last team left out of the 3A State Playoffs, with Rocky Mount edging out the Red Wolves for the 32nd and final spot in the Eastern Region. It would have been the Red Wolves first state playoff appearance in four years.
Like Cedar Ridge, Orange finished with a 7-12-1 overall record, but lost 4-2 in overtime to Northwood in Pittsboro, a 4-3 defeat against Southern Durham and a 1-1 tie against Cedar Ridge down the home stretch of the regular season.
To start 2022, both Hillsborough teams have had a difficult time putting the ball in the net.
Cedar Ridge opened its season on August 17 against Durham School of the Arts, where the Bulldogs prevailed 1-0. The only goal came off a penalty kick.
On Monday night, the Red Wolves played its home opener against Voyager Academy, which ended in a scoreless tie. It was the first career clean sheet for Red Wolves freshman goalkeeper Erik Galunas in his second career start.
Cedar Ridge returns its leading goal scorer from last season in senior striker Chris Mendez, who scored 13 goals in 2021. Mendez also paced the squad with 29 points.
“What I like about this team is that they have a lot of grit,” said Cedar Ridge coach Chauncey Brummell, who started his second season last week. “They’re a close group of kids so I think that with the experience I have with the seniors, they’re just exciting to watch when they can put it all together. Chris just needs to find his confidence. Once he does that, he’ll be fine.”
In addition to Galunas, the Red Wolves have four other freshman on the team: midfielders Luis Garcia-Paez, Alex Bettger, striker Giovani Yaez and wingback Rudy Fuentes.
“Freshmen are stepping up big,” Brummell said. “I’m very pleased with Erik. He’s a very talented goalkeeper. If he continues being as consistent as he is, I think he can lift our team and get us moving in the right direction.”
On Friday afternoon, Cedar Ridge will journey to WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary to start a span of two games over the span of two days. The Red Wolves will open with South Garner, followed by a contest against Wallace-Rose Hill on Saturday afternoon at 1.
On the other side of town, Orange opened with a 2-0 loss to Riverside at Linny Wrenn Stadium in Durham on August 15. After a scoreless first half, Gustavos Lagos ended the struggle with a goal from 12 yards away with 20:38 remaining. The Pirates added insurance when Reese Compton chipped the ball in from the near post with 12:00 left.
The Panthers had numerous chances to score, including a penalty kick in the opening half that was saved by Riverside goalkeeper John Ballard. With 16:08 remaining, the Panthers nearly evened the game off a corner kick by midfielder Cooper Zinn, which senior Darius Corbett handled from point blank range, but sent the ball off the near post.
“It was a pretty even match,” said Orange coach Palmer Cannon. “You have to give credit to Riverside. They finished their chances and played hard throughout the night. We created chances and we did some good things against a good team. It’s a good starting point, but we should be upset.”
Orange dropped a 3-1 game against Northern Durham at James Armstrong Stadium on August 17. Corbett scored the Panthers’ only goal off a penalty kick in the second half.
The Panthers will face Knightdale on Saturday, followed by a home game against Northern Durham on Wednesday night.