Photo by Bradly Nicholson
Matchups between Orange and Cedar Ridge come and go. Some are competitive. Some aren’t.
On a night like Wednesday, it serves as a reminder that having the crosstown rivals in the same league can be a wonderful thing.
In what may have been the best matchup in women’s soccer in the history of the rivalry, the two teams combined for four goals in two, 10-minute overtime sessions.
With Orange trailing 5-4, junior Caroline Cathey took a short return pass off a corner kick from Lily Crayton and lofted it up from 25 yards. The ball bent under the crossbar and over the outstretched hands of Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Ellamarie Perel into the nylon. It was the final equalizer in a game full of them.
The game would end in a 5-5 tie, but it was fiercely contested down to the very last second in front of two grandstands full of fans that lived and died with every loose ball at Orange Soccer Field.
In the final scoring attempt, Orange senior Ella Wimsatt sent a long ball that led to a chase between Cathey and Cedar Ridge wingback Rachel Alverson. The two players collided as the buzzer sounded. Cathey was shaken up and was checked on by Alverson and several teammates as the long battle ended.
Orange has now gone unbeaten in its last eight games against the Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge’s last victory over the Lady Panthers came on April 17, 2019.
Cedar Ridge junior Fleury Nicholson finished with two goals. Cathey finished with two goals for Orange (7-4-1, 4-3-1 in the Central Conference).
It was yet another battle in a Central Conference that has turned incredibly competitive over the final weeks of the regular season. Both Cedar Ridge and Orange had wins over defending 3A State Champion Eastern Alamance last week. Orange is currently ranked #10 in the 3A East Region, with Cedar Ridge at #11.
Cedar Ridge appeared set to end Orange’s dominance in the rivalry when they bolted out to a 3-1 lead. Rose Garysmith, a Red Wolf centerback, completed the opening goal when she took a corner kick from freshman Kate Finnegan and kneed the ball into the lower right corner past Orange netminder Makayla Davis in the 16th minute.
Orange’s leading scorer, Elliana Sullivan Gaddy, tied it up after she took a throw-in from Wimsatt and chipped it past Perel from the right corner of the box from 17 yards.
Cedar Ridge had six corner kicks in the opening half. After Wimsatt disposed of a corner by Finnegan, Cedar Ridge’s Katie Paulakonis was grabbed by Orange’s Channing Mahaney in the penalty area, leading to a foul. Nicholson’s first goal came off the subsequent penalty kick, putting the Red Wolves back ahead 2-1.
Orange took the kickoff to the second half and Sullivan Gaddy’s attempt was blocked by Alverson. That sparked a quick Cedar Ridge counter where Paulakonis fed Nicholson, who switched to her right foot for a better angle and fired it past Davis from 19 yards with 38:29 remaining in regulation.
Orange controlled possession for the next few minutes until Cora Bailey scored to put Orange within a goal. Sullivan Gaddy’s corner led to a failed clearance by the Red Wolves. Bailey pounced on the loose ball and drilled it into the heart of the net.
Orange evened the game in dramatic, if somewhat controversial, fashion. The referee’s assistant ruled Orange got the ball on a throw-in with 1:48 remaining. Sullivan Gaddy launched down the right flank and fired in a shot from 20 yards with 1:10 remaining in regulation to tie it up at 3-3.
Cathey gave Orange its only lead of the night when she was fouled by Adelynn Nasseri in the box just 16 seconds into overtime. Cathey scored the penalty kick to put Orange ahead and she fired it into the upper left corner.
Finnegan, who had two assists in the game, took a throw-in and scored in the upper left corner with 3:49 remaining in the first overtime to even it up at 4-4.
Finnegan wasn’t done. With 1:32 remaining in the opening overtime, Finnegan took a loose ball and fed Paulakonis inside the nine-yard box. Paulakonis tucked it in with ease to put the Red Wolves back ahead 5-4.