Photo by Kim Petrides
Orange 6, Cedar Ridge 1: A victory in the Hillsborough Derby has become, pardon the pun, old hat for Orange men’s soccer. Last Thursday, Orange rolled past Cedar Ridge to win the competition between the two schools for the third straight year.
With every win, Orange is taking steps towards two milestones. They’re now 12-4 overall. The school record for most wins in a season is held by the 2009 team, which finished 15-5. The Panthers entered Monday night’s game against Southern Alamance with three more matches on its slate. They will face Southern Alamance again on Tuesday, followed by its Central Conference finale against Eastern Alamance on October 28. With the fall sports season expanded, the Panthers have added a nonconference game against Southeast Alamance in Haw River on November 6.
Orange is also on track to host a state playoff game for the first time since the program started in 1987. Going into Monday night, Orange’s RPI was #9. While Western Alamance has clinched the Central Conference championship for the second year in a row, the Panthers have officially clinched the league’s 2nd automatic postseason spot.
While Orange struggled to score against Cedar Ridge last Monday, the Panthers rolled in the rematch on Thursday night. Demetrius Holmes scored his first career brace, and added an assist. Junior Yurim Tapia Mendez added his team-high 13th goal of the season. Mendez scored the game-winning goal in Orange’s senior opener against Carrboro in August.
Senior Joseph Lopez added a goal for Orange in the final second of regulation. Lopez scored the game-winning goal in Orange’s 1-0 win over Walter Williams on October 9 to complete a two-game sweep of the Bulldogs. It’s the first time that Orange has swept Williams since the two teams became conference rivals in 2021.
Senior Isaac Gallegos and junior Logan Edwards also scored for Orange.
Salomon Hernandez scored the only goal for Cedar Ridge, who fell to 6-8-2 overall, 5-5 in the Central Conference.
Orange sophomore goalkeeper Hector Garrido earned the win.
Cedar Ridge 4, Eastern Alamance 0: On October 16, Cedar Ridge senior goalkeeper Erik Galunas earned the clean sheet as Cedar Ridge completed a season sweep of the Eagles at the John Kirby Sports Complex in Mebane.
Fresman Alex Rosales scored his seventh goal of the season. Rosales scored in the opening win over Eastern Alamance on September 23.
Senior Salomon Hernandez added another marker, his sixth of the season. Hernandez, who was one of the premier players for Cedar Ridge’s team that finished second in the Central Conference last year, also has three assists this year. Junior Edber Lopez and sophomore Niko James added goals for Cedar Ridge. James has ten goals this season.
Cedar Ridge will host Williams on Wednesday night. They have added a nonconference game against Vance County, which will be the Red Wolves final home game of the season, on October 28. The Vipers defeated the Red Wolves 3-1 on August 19 in Henderson.
Orange 5, Person 1: Orange completed a season sweep of the Rockets with a 5-1 victory on October 16 in Hillsborough. Just days after he scored the game-winning goal against Cedar Ridge at Red Wolves Stadium, Daniel Toledo had his first career brace. Toledo now has five goals this season.
Toledo also had an assist on a goal by Dallas Johnson. Several members of Orange’s prominent backline wound up on the score sheet. Johnson, a junior centerback, scored a goal. Senior Eben Petrides also scored a goal, his first of the season.
Sophomore Brendan McDonald added his first career goal. Kace McAuley, Lopez and Jesse Petrides added assists for the Panthers. Garrido played goalkeeper for the first half. He was replaced in the second half by Durvin Lopez Abarca, a junior. Abarca made one save.
The Panthers have won eight consecutive contests over Person since the two teams became conference rivals again in 2021.