It was a game played at Cedar Ridge’s Stadium.
It was played at their pace.
It was played with Cedar Ridge getting the better chances in the final 50 minutes.
Yet it was Orange who came away from the Hillsborough Derby victorious continuing to take giant steps towards unprecedented heights in the 37-year history of the program.
Daniel Toledo’s goal in the 35th minute, assisted by Yurem Tapia Mendez, was the only tally on the night as Orange defeated Cedar Ridge 1-0 at Red Wolves Stadium. Orange improved to 10-4 and remains on pace to tie the school record for most wins in a season.
The 2010 Orange team finished 15-6, losing in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs to Western Alamance 1-0 in Elon.
Orange junior Demetrius Holmes triggered the game’s only goal with a long dribble past midfield. A quick feed to Mendez on the right side of the penalty area drew Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Erik Galunas off his line. Mendez first thought about shooting but decided to send a diagonal pass to Toledo, who fired the ball into an empty net with 5:28 remaining in the first half.
Orange sophomore goalkeeper Hector Garrido, who had not played organized soccer before this year, earned his fifth clean sheet of the season, but it wasn’t a game where the Panthers dictated play. Following Toledo’s goal, the Red Wolves came away with better scoring opportunities in the second half.
“I think we played the way that Cedar Ridge wanted us to play,” said Orange coach Palmer Bowman. “They got us off our game. We were fortunate to get one. They won a lot of balls out of the air and dictated how the game went tonight.”
Cedar Ridge (5-7-2 overall, 4-4 in the Central Conference) immediately had a chance off a corner kick. A ball sent in bounced off the head of Alex Rosales, hopped off the ground and bounced off the crossbar. Garrido’s momentum nearly took him into his own net as he grabbed the ball for the save.
“Before the game in the locker room, I told the boys to go out and give 100% on every single play,” said Cedar Ridge assistant coach Seth Foster. “Regardless of the outcome, at the end of the day, we’re happy with that. The boys came out at the beginning of the game and set the tone. They controlled the flow. I thought we outplayed them for the majority of the game. We had one simple mistake in the first half. Overall, I was happy with how we played.”
Cedar Ridge’s Salomon Hernandez had a breakaway opportunity five minutes into the second half. Garrido came out of the net to shut down his angle, leaving Hernandez with no choice but to fire from 21 yards, which rolled wide.
With 29:05 remaining, Hernandez would get another chance with a free kick of 23 yards. Hernandez aimed it for the upper left corner, but Garrido used his 6-1 frame to gently tap it over the left post for his best save of the night.
Orange centerback Dallas Johnson disrupted several Cedar Ridge chances throughout the night, denying a run by Cedar Ridge forward Edwin Diaz in the final ten minutes. The Red Wolves best chance in the waning minutes came when Niko James sent a wormburner on net from 18 yards, which bounced off Gurrido’s chest as Rosales ran in. Gurrido smothered the ball before Rosales could get the equalizer.
Orange is 5-2 in Central Conference play. Currently, Orange’s RPI is #9 in the 3A East Region. If the Panthers can maintain that standing for the remainder of the regular season, they will likely host a state playoff game for the first time since the program started in the summer of 1987 under original head coach Pat Todd.