The drawback for Orange men’s soccer is its goalkeeping position is young.
But their centerbacks and wingbacks are not.
On Monday night, the defensive backline of Jay Parker, Dallas Johnson, Eben Petrides and Logan Edwards defended strongly in front of goalkeeper Hector Garrido, who got a clean sheet in his first varsity start.
And what a time to do it.
Orange defeated Carrboro 1-0 for the first time in recorded history to open the season on Monday night at Orange Soccer Field. Yurem Tapia Mendez scored the game’s only goal after he received a through pass from senior Kace McAuley with 23:47 remaining in regulation.
MaxPreps.com records show that Orange and Carrboro had met five previous times dating back to 2010. The Jaguars and the Panthers played to a 1-1 tie last year at Jaguars Stadium. Carrboro, which opened in 2007, had gone 3-0-2 lifetime against Orange going into Monday night. Records date back to 2010.
After Mendez’s opener, Carrboro continued to press looking for the equalizer. The Jaguars amassed a series of corner kicks in the final 20 minutes, but Orange thwarted each attempt.
It was the second straight year that the Panthers won its season opener. Last year, Orange won at Durham School of the Arts.
Orange’s preparation for its season opener was rushed because of Mother Nature. Last week, the Panthers had two scrimmages scheduled. The first one against Chapel Hill lasted all of eight minutes before a downpour ensued and everybody went home. Another scheduled scrimmage canceled for Thursday was washed away courtesy of Tropical Storm Debby.
“I think everybody was working out some kinks tonight,” said Orange coach Palmer Bowman. “That had to work through it.”
Yurem, a junior, scored two goals in 2023. He replaced Emmanuel Mil Cruz, who led the Panthers with five goals last season before graduating in June, at forward. It was set up when McAuley stepped into a passing lane and found Mendez cutting up the center of the field.
“We emphasized quick counters,” Bowman said. “Kace made a good read and intercepted it and it was a quick counter.”
Carrboro, coming off a second place finish in the Northern Lakes Conference in 2023, finished 13-6-3 last season. The Jaguars were looking for a scoring option after its top three goal scorers from 2023 graduated, including Kesar Lamb, who finished with 20 goals in 2023 en route to the state playoffs.
That’s where Orange’s backline came through. They patrolled the goal where Garrido, who had numerous starts as a freshman in men’s basketball last winter, made two saves to earn the shutout. Petrides helped engineer several clearances in the final ten minutes as the Panthers desperately cringed to a one-goal lead for the final 20 minutes of regulation.
“They limited Carrboro’s opportunities,” Bowman said. “Carrboro had way more possession, but we limited opportunities in our defensive third. They deserve a lot of credit.”
Orange finished 8-8-3 overall in 2023 with a fourth place finish in the Central Conference. For the first time since the formation of the Central Conference in 2022, the Panthers defeated Walter Williams in Burlington. Earlier in the year, the Bulldogs and the Panthers played to a scoreless tie in Hillsborough.
For the first time in the 44-year history of the program, Orange men’s soccer reached the state playoffs in consecutive years. After finishing the regular season with a 2-0 win over Eastern Alamance in Mebane, the Panthers fell to Lee County in Sanford in the state playoffs. In 2022, J.H. Rose knocked off Orange in Greenville.
With Southern Durham, the defending Northern Lakes champions, on tap for Wednesday night, Bowman isn’t letting his team get ahead of itself.
“We’re only one game in,” Bowman said. “I told the guys that the season is about responding to good and bad alike.”