Cedar Ridge Men’s Soccer

Featuring Josh Jackson, Jimmy Rogers, Carson Bradsher, Caitlin Carden and Maddie Bartlett

In this edition, we ask Orange shortstop Joey Berini, Cedar Ridge volleyball setter ShiLi Quade, Cedar Ridge women’s basketball center Caitlyn Lloyd and Red Wolf soccer midfielder Eh Kaw Hso what they’re thankful for. Wait until the end for a thoughtful answer from one of the athletes.

Chris Walker has a long memory.

When Orange defeated Cedar Ridge 4-1 in 2017 at Red Wolves Stadium, Walker muttered afterward that he hadn’t lost to Orange at home since he took over as coach in 2013.

On September 18, it appeared another loss to Orange was certain. Rohan Kasthuri scored in the second half to bolt the Panthers ahead 3-1 with 22:30 remaining.

To make matters more difficult, Cedar Ridge already had lost leading scorer Brandon Garcia, who was injured midway through the second half. Garcia had a seven-game scoring streak to open the season and didn’t return until the 2nd overtime session, and barely touched the ball even then.

With 17:00 remaining, the Red Wolves went on the attack. Freshman Nicholas Frank scored two goals in a span of 43 seconds to tie the game.

Junior Dean Allen fed Frank with two gorgeous through passes on each goal that ultimately sent the game into penalty kicks.

Fittingly, Frank laced the game-winning penalty into the middle right side of the net. Cedar Ridge junior goalkeeper Ty Corbin made the save on Orange’s final attempt to start a wild celebration among the Cedar Ridge players.

“I told our guys at halftime we had to go back to our game plan,” said Walker, his voice hoarse from an intense night off coaching. “I pulled Nick in the first half because he told me ‘Coach, I’m not getting the ball.’ And I asked him what he was going to do? I told him he had to do more to get the ball.”

And he did. On consecutive possessions in the 2nd half, Frank received the ball after 20-yard runs. His first goal came from 20 yards away after Orange’s goalkeeper came out of net as Frank collected a gorgeous balll from Reese Weaver.

Less than a minute later, Frank received another pass to even the game.

Orange led penalties 3-2 after three rounds, but Corbin made saves on the last two attempts.

Garcia, Weaver, Erickson Thole and Frank scored penalties for Cedar Ridge.

The rematch in Hillsborough would be just as dramatic. Orange’s Elliott Sikes sent the game into overtime on an equalizing goal with 1:06 remaining in the second half.

Tyler Werden started the scoring for Orange. Frank and William Mendoza put the Red Wolves ahead with consecutive goals, including one assisted by Victor Garcia-Salazar.

After two scoreless overtime period, it came down to penalty kicks once again. In penalties, it once again boiled down to the fifth and final round. Frank calmly slotted his attempt past Orange goalkeeper Jonathan Cowan. Kasthuri stepped up and missed wide right on the final attempt.

The Cedar Ridge huddle at midfield exploded and rushed to join their goalie. As they raced past him at full speed, Kasthuri, seemingly in slow motion, fell to the ground.

Cedar Ridge would narrowly miss the playoffs with a 7-12-1 record. They had close losses to Northwood and Southern Durham to conclude the season, but they succeeded in sweeping the Hillsborough Derby from its arch rivals. Orange ended the year 7-13, 4-10 in the Big 8 Conference.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior soccer midfielder Reese Weaver. On October 23, Cedar Ridge defeated Vance County 9-0 at Red Wolves Stadium. Weaver scored six goals against the Vipers. This season, Weaver scored 14 goals for the Red Wolves, which led the team. He scored against Orange on September 18, a game that Cedar Ridge won in penalty kicks 4-3. Unfortunately, Cedar Ridge missed the 3A State Playoffs when the field of 64 was unveiled on Monday. Weaver will have the benefit of saying he swept Orange his senior year, the first time the Red Wolves took the season series from its crosstown rivals since 2015. Once Weaver graduates from Cedar Ridge in June, he plans to attend Durham Technical Community College while trying to transfer to a 4-year college. He also plans to continue his soccer career with the Triangle United travel team. 

Editor’s note: This is the 2nd Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week for this week. It is to make up for Week 7,  when we were unable to interview an athlete because of a lack of practices due to hot weather. 

Trenton Gill: In his first year playing for the N.C. State football team, 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate Trent Gill has been put on the watch list for the Ray Guy Award, presented to the college punter of the year. This season, as a sophomore, Gill has averaged 47.1 yards per punt. Of his 40 punts, eleven have been downed inside the 20-yard line. He’s had eighteen punts of over 50 yards, along with five touchbacks. Gill also handles kickoffs for the Wolfpack. At Cedar Ridge, Gill was an All-Big 8 Conference performer in football and men’s soccer. The Wolfpack will host #4 Clemson this Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Kayla Hodges: The Elon women’s soccer team had its season come to an end on Sunday in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. Top-seeded Hofstra defeated the Phoenix 3-1 on Sunday at Hofstra Soccer Stadium. Hodges started at midfield at fired one shot. After winning only three games in 2018, Elon went 12-6-2 this year. Hodges was named second-team All-CAA. She finished the year with four goals, two assists and ten points. Hodges, a sophomore, started all 18 games that she appeared in for Elon.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone women’s soccer team ended the regular season with a 2-0 victory over King University at Parks Field in Bristol, TN on Sunday. Jean started as goalkeeper for the Saints and earned the win by making one save. She played 77 minutes. Limestone finished the regular season 9-8, 8-3 in Conference Carolinas. Limestone is the #4 seed in the Conference Carolinas Tournament, which starts on Friday. In the opening round, Limestone will host North Greenville University. In the regular season, Jean started all 17 games for the Saints in net. She went 9-8 with a 1.37 goals against average. She had six shutouts.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: The Division III Dickinson men’s soccer team finished its regular season on Saturday. Johns Hopkins defeated the Red Devils 4-1 at Homewood Field in Baltimore. Reid-Shaw, who scored the first goal of his four-year career last week, started for the Red Devils at centerback. Dickinson ended the regular season 10-7 overall, 6-3 in the Centennial Conference. The Red Devils earned a #3 seed for the Centennial Conference tournament, which starts Saturday at Franklin & Marshall University in Lancaster, PA. Dickinson will face Johns Hopkins, once again, in the opening round.

Madison Wardlow: Now playing for the Guilford Technical Community College women’s basketball team, Wardlow scored 28 points for the Titans in an exhibition game in Apex. Interestingly enough, one of the officials for the game was Felton Page, who was Wardlow’s high school coach. Page resigned as Cedar Ridge women’s coach in March. On a totally and completely unrelated note, Wardlow finished the game with one foul. Wardlow will officially start her career on Wednesday night at Methodist College in the Riddle Center in Fayetteville.

Lauren Cates: The 2019 Orange High graduate started her college career with the Wake Technical Community College Eagles on Monday night. Cates started and scored nine points as the Eagles defeated Caldwell Community College 57-47 in Raleigh. Cates was 3-of-11 from the field. All of her field goals were 3-pointers. Wake Tech continues its season at Fayetteville Technical Community College on Wednesday night.

The fall sports season is drawing to a close with some playoff intrigue in football and men’s soccer. On Monday night, the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to Southern Durham on senior night at Red Wolves Stadium. The Spartans scored in the opening minute and largely packed in its defense the rest of the game to hold Cedar Ridge scoreless.

It was a costly loss to Cedar Ridge’s playoff chances. On Tuesday, the Red Wolves’ MaxPreps ranking fell to #68. They’re 7-12-1 overall, 5-9 in the Big 8 Conference. While Southern Durham’s MaxPreps ranking is #67, they can’t make the state playoffs ahead of the Red Wolves because Cedar Ridge finished ahead of them in the Big 8 standings.

Last week, the Orange football team kept its playoff hopes alive with a dramatic 31-30 overtime win over Northwood. Machai Holt scored in overtime for the game-winning score. Sophomore Omarion Lewis scored three touchdowns.

On Saturday, the season ended for the Cedar Ridge and Orange High volleyball teams. Terry Sanford defeated the Red Wolves 3-1 in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. Clayton swept Orange. Two nights later the Comets stunned previously undefeated Grey’s Creek 3-0 to advance to the Round of 16.

The Big 8 Conference Cross Country Championships were held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary last Thursday. We’ll have more details on the results in a post coming up later tonight.

Now, here’s the Magnificent 7 from Week 9 of the Fall Sports Season:

Anne Morrell: Finished 10th in the Big 8 Women’s Cross Country Championships with a time of 19:52.70. Helped Cedar Ridge finish 3rd in the Big 8. The Red Wolves will compete in the 3A Mideast Regionals at Northwood High School in Pittsboro on Saturday.

Allison Musty: This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week, Musty was also named to the All-Big 8 Conference team in women’s cross country (Morrell was, as well). Musty finished 15th overall in the Big 8 Championships, crossing the finish line at 20:34.30.

Reese Weaver: Scored a hat trick in Cedar Ridge’s 9-0 win over Vance County on October 23. Weaver has eleven goals for the Red Wolves this season.

Levi Draughon: A sophomore, Draughon finished 19th in the Big 8 Men’s Cross Country Championships for Cedar Ridge. He was the highest finisher among Cedar Ridge runners. Cedar Ridge finished 4th as a team.

Omarion Lewis: The sophomore Orange running back was named the Orange Panther of the Week after rushing for 95 yards and three touchdowns in the Panthers 31-30 win over Northwood in overtime last Friday night. Lewis leads the team in rushing.

Machai Holt: Made an interception in the fourth quarter of the Northwood game. Two plays later, Holt scored off a 32-yard touchdown pass from Wyatt Jones to tie the game against Northwood. Holt scored on a 10-yard touchdown run in overtime. Holt leads the team with eight touchdowns.

McKenzie Hawks: Hawks competed in the 3A Central Regional Women’s Golf Championships at Greensboro National Golf Club last week. Hawks, a senior, shot 107. Sarah Durham, an Orange sophomore, were the only Hillsborough representatives in the Central Regional Championships.

Check out Phil Stapleton online here for more of his work with East Chapel Hill. He was on the sidelines on Monday night as East Chapel Hill men’s soccer defeated Cedar Ridge 3-0. The Red Wolves remain in the hunt for a state playoff birth and is #64 in the latest MaxPreps ranking, meaning they’re right on the bubble. Thanks, Phil!

It’s finally feeling like fall.

This year, it also feels like playoff anticipation is alive and well again across Hillsborough after a relatively quiet 2018 at Cedar Ridge. Last academic year, only the Cedar Ridge softball team made the state playoffs among sports that determine their champions through a routine knockout tournament (the Cedar Ridge men’s and women’s cross country teams did qualify for the state championship meet)

This week, the Cedar Ridge volleyball team will officially make the state playoffs for the first time since 2015 when the brackets are unveiled online by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

Orange will also be included in the field of 64. Not only that, but the Lady Panthers have a chance to be the winningest volleyball team at Orange this decade with a win over Northern Durham on Tuesday.

This Friday, Olivia Ward will represent Cedar Ridge women’s tennis in the 3A State Championships at the Burlington Tennis Center. Details about Ward qualifying for the state championships are detailed below.

On Monday, the 3A Central Golf Regionals will be held at Greensboro National Golf Club. Orange’s McKenzie Hawks and Sarah Durham will be competing and attempt to qualify for the 3A State Championships. Hawks and Durham will be the only golfers in Hillsborough competing in the regionals. The top three teams automatically qualify for the 3A State Championships with the three best scores. The top 17 individuals not on a qualifying team (which Orange falls into since they’re only taking two players) can also qualify for the state championships.

Here’s this week’s Magnificent 7. As always, we’ll have the announcement of the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week and the Orange Panther of the Week later this week.

Olivia Ward: For the second year in a row, Olivia Ward has qualified for the 3A Women’s Tennis State Championships. In a thrilling match on Friday afternoon at the Burlington Tennis Center, Ward defeated Orange sophomore Jera Hargrove in the 2nd round of the 3A Mideast Regionals. Ward won 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to establish herself as the most established women’s tennis player in school history. Ward started the day with a victory over a player from Terry Sanford 6-0, 6-1. In Ward’s freshman year, Cedar Ridge won the 2016 Big 8 Championship. As a junior, she teamed with Alana Lutz to qualify for the 3A State Championships in doubles, where they lost to the eventual state championship tandem of Natalie Lutz and Madelynn Frye of Kings Mountain. Ward will start play in the State Championships on Friday as the #4 seed from the Mideast. She will face the champion of the Midwest Region in the opening round.

Nicholas Frank: Scored the final goal in regulation as the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team defeated Orange 3-2 in penalty kicks on Monday night. Frank, who notched a brace in the first game between the two teams last month, also scored the game-winning penalty kick as the Red Wolves took another step toward qualifying for the state playoffs for the first time since 2017. Cedar Ridge is 6-10-1 overall, 4-7 in the Big 8 Conference.

Julie Altieri: Yet another week where a freshman Cedar Ridge freshman makes the Magnificent 7. On Thursday, Altieri had 26 assists, five digs, five aces and one block as the Red Wolves swept Vance County in Henderson. Altieri leads the team with 78 aces and 552 assists for the Red Wolves, who are scheduled to conclude its regular season at Southern Durham on Tuesday (though Southern forfeited against Orange on Thursday due to a lack of available players).

Jera Hargrove: Last week’s Orange Panther of the Week won her first match in the Mideast Regionals over the top singles player from Eastern Alamance on Friday at the Burlington Tennis Center in straight sets. It’s the second time in the opening two years of Hargove’s athletic career that she has qualified for regionals. She missed qualifying for states by two games. Hargrove was the #1 singles player for the most successful Orange women’s tennis team this decade. The Lady Panthers finished 11-8.

Kaitlyn Werden: Finished with six kills, three aces, one block, 15 digs and 22 assists in Orange’s five-set thriller at Roxboro Community School on Friday. Werden also had 10 assists and five digs in the loss to Chapel Hill. Combined with Orange’s forfeit win over Southern Durham, the Lady Panthers have won 15 games this season. If they defeat Northern Durham on Tuesday, this Orange team will have more wins than any other Panther volleyball squad this decade.

Machai Holt: Scored two touchdowns in the Orange football team’s 40-30 loss to Vance County on Friday night in Henderson. Holt leads Orange with seven touchdowns. He paced the Panthers with 48 rushing yards and 23 receiving yards against the Vipers. The previous week against Northern Durham, Holt had 111 of Orange’s 144 yards of total offense.

Elliott Sikes: Blasted the game-tying goal for the Orange men’s soccer team in the waning minutes to send the Cedar Ridge game into extra time. Sikes is 2nd on the team with five goals on the season. Orange travels to Chapel Hill on Monday.

It’s finally feeling like fall.

This year, it also feels like playoff anticipation is alive and well again across Hillsborough after a relatively quiet 2018 at Cedar Ridge. Last academic year, only the Cedar Ridge softball team made the state playoffs among sports that determine their champions through a routine knockout tournament (the Cedar Ridge men’s and women’s cross country teams did qualify for the state championship meet)

This week, the Cedar Ridge volleyball team will officially make the state playoffs for the first time since 2015 when the brackets are unveiled online by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

Orange will also be included in the field of 64. Not only that, but the Lady Panthers have a chance to be the winningest volleyball team at Orange this decade with a win over Northern Durham on Tuesday.

This Friday, Olivia Ward will represent Cedar Ridge women’s tennis in the 3A State Championships at the Burlington Tennis Center. Details about Ward qualifying for the state championships are detailed below.

On Monday, the 3A Central Golf Regionals will be held at Greensboro National Golf Club. Orange’s McKenzie Hawks and Sarah Durham will be competing and attempt to qualify for the 3A State Championships. Hawks and Durham will be the only golfers in Hillsborough competing in the regionals. The top three teams automatically qualify for the 3A State Championships with the three best scores. The top 17 individuals not on a qualifying team (which Orange falls into since they’re only taking two players) can also qualify for the state championships.

Here’s this week’s Magnificent 7. As always, we’ll have the announcement of the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week and the Orange Panther of the Week later this week.

Olivia Ward: For the second year in a row, Olivia Ward has qualified for the 3A Women’s Tennis State Championships. In a thrilling match on Friday afternoon at the Burlington Tennis Center, Ward defeated Orange sophomore Jera Hargrove in the 2nd round of the 3A Mideast Regionals. Ward won 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to establish herself as the most established women’s tennis player in school history. Ward started the day with a victory over a player from Terry Sanford 6-0, 6-1. In Ward’s freshman year, Cedar Ridge won the 2016 Big 8 Championship. As a junior, she teamed with Alana Lutz to qualify for the 3A State Championships in doubles, where they lost to the eventual state championship tandem of Natalie Lutz and Madelynn Frye of Kings Mountain. Ward will start play in the State Championships on Friday as the #4 seed from the Mideast. She will face the champion of the Midwest Region in the opening round.

Nicholas Frank: Scored the final goal in regulation as the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team defeated Orange 3-2 in penalty kicks on Monday night. Frank, who notched a brace in the first game between the two teams last month, also scored the game-winning penalty kick as the Red Wolves took another step toward qualifying for the state playoffs for the first time since 2017. Cedar Ridge is 6-10-1 overall, 4-7 in the Big 8 Conference.

Julie Altieri: Yet another week where a freshman Cedar Ridge freshman makes the Magnificent 7. On Thursday, Altieri had 26 assists, five digs, five aces and one block as the Red Wolves swept Vance County in Henderson. Altieri leads the team with 78 aces and 552 assists for the Red Wolves, who are scheduled to conclude its regular season at Southern Durham on Tuesday (though Southern forfeited against Orange on Thursday due to a lack of available players).

Jera Hargrove: Last week’s Orange Panther of the Week won her first match in the Mideast Regionals over the top singles player from Eastern Alamance on Friday at the Burlington Tennis Center in straight sets. It’s the second time in the opening two years of Hargove’s athletic career that she has qualified for regionals. She missed qualifying for states by two games. Hargrove was the #1 singles player for the most successful Orange women’s tennis team this decade. The Lady Panthers finished 11-8.

Kaitlyn Werden: Finished with six kills, three aces, one block, 15 digs and 22 assists in Orange’s five-set thriller at Roxboro Community School on Friday. Werden also had 10 assists and five digs in the loss to Chapel Hill. Combined with Orange’s forfeit win over Southern Durham, the Lady Panthers have won 15 games this season. If they defeat Northern Durham on Tuesday, this Orange team will have more wins than any other Panther volleyball squad this decade.

Machai Holt: Scored two touchdowns in the Orange football team’s 40-30 loss to Vance County on Friday night in Henderson. Holt leads Orange with seven touchdowns. He paced the Panthers with 48 rushing yards and 23 receiving yards against the Vipers. The previous week against Northern Durham, Holt had 111 of Orange’s 144 yards of total offense.

Elliott Sikes: Blasted the game-tying goal for the Orange men’s soccer team in the waning minutes to send the Cedar Ridge game into extra time. Sikes is 2nd on the team with five goals on the season. Orange travels to Chapel Hill on Monday.

Last-minute strikes. Quick equalizers. Desperation defense. Yellow cards. Injuries. Timely saves. Smack talk. And, to top it all off, the ultimate drama of a penalty shootout. The second installment of the 2019 Hillsborough Rivalry, boys’ soccer edition, featured a little bit of everything. For the second straight meeting between Orange and Cedar Ridge, a second-half comeback set up a tense round of penalties, and for the second-straight meeting, Cedar Ridge prevailed.

A victory in the rivalry match would have been critically important for two teams that are on the fringe of HighSchoolOT’s current 3A soccer playoff projections. On Monday night in Hillsborough, the Red Wolves (6-9-1) withstood a steady barrage of Orange (6-10) offense and overcame a late Panther goal before winning the shootout 4-3 to seize the match 3-2, sweeping aside the Panthers for the first time since 2016.

In front of their home fans, with a few of those white “Beat the Ridge” shirts sprinkled throughout, the Panthers turned in a fairly dominant first half, but were never rewarded for their efforts. They controlled nearly all of the possession through the first 20 minutes and set up plenty of long-distance shots, most from either the right foot of Jose Beltran-Reyes or the left of Jason Franklin, but nothing got close enough to goal to trouble Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Ty Corbin. Finally, the unrelenting pressure resulted in a breakthrough in the 31^st minute, as Franklin laid in Tyler Werden with a perfect through ball in the left half of the box, but Werden was flagged for offside as he converted his chip shot over a sprawling Corbin. Beltran-Reyes hit a curler just over the bar with about four minutes left, and the teams headed to halftime with the score still deadlocked at zero.

After halftime, something changed. After a first half with plenty of chances but no real tests, both sides upped their game almost immediately. Cedar Ridge opened the second half with a long-range bid from right back Bryan Dock, but it sailed over the bar. A few minutes later, Werden was deemed offside again on a header attempt to finish a rush, but he would not be denied. Eight minutes into the half, Werden was played into the attacking third. Surrounded by three Red Wolves defenders with a fourth one crashing in, Werden somehow spun around and lobbed the ball over the goalie for the opening score.

Cedar Ridge looked stunned, but not for long. Barely two minutes later, the Red Wolves were on the attack, forcing Orange goalie Jonathan Cowan to knock a low shot away. But with Cedar Ridge’s Nick Frank crashing in, Cowan couldn’t control the ball, and Will Mendoza swooped in to knock it home at the far post to level the score. Orange protested that Frank interfered with Cowan, but to no avail.

After a frenetic first ten minutes, both teams settled down for a while until Cedar Ridge found its breakthrough when Frank was played in perfectly, guided towards goal behind two defenders. Frank did the rest, slotting home his sixth goal of the season in the bottom corner to Cowan’s right. With 16 minutes to play, the Red Wolves had the lead. Orange nearly equalized a few minutes later, but Connor Blankford made a sliding play to deny Beltran-Reyes a glorious opportunity at the right post with Corbin out of position.  

Still protecting the one-goal lead, Cedar Ridge continued to push forward, forcing a goal line clearance off a corner and threatening Cowan with a bid by Alex Jackan with two minutes to play. The Panthers knew they were running out of time. Cowan set up the goal kick after the Jackan miss, and, less than half a minute later, the Panthers passed the ball through their defense, past midfield, and into the stride of Elliott Sikes racing down the right sideline. With one big windup, Sikes blasted a shot around Corbin and into the back of the net from an impossible angle, tying the score at two apiece with 1:06 left to play. Beltran-Reyes got one more shot on goal with 20 seconds left, but Corbin did well enough to knock it away, sending the Hillsborough Rivalry to extra time for the second straight time.

The best chance of extra time came in the first minute when Orange’s Jerry Velazquez got an early shot on frame that Corbin parried right into the path of Franklin, but the Cedar Ridge defense was up to the task. Both offenses were quiet from there, setting up the ultimate drama that is the penalty shootout. Corbin and Cowan exchanged a cordial fist bump as they prepared to play their roles in the five-round showdown. The Red Wolves had to operate without co-leading scorer Reese Weaver, who had departed in the second half after a hard collision with Kobe Thompson that earned the Panther defender the game’s only yellow card. Instead, Garcia, the other co-leading scorer, led off with a confident goal. Leif Mahaney, who left the game himself with an injury on two separate occasions, returned to equalize.

Back and forth it went. Dock scored and Thompson equalized in a battle of defenders. Beltran-Reyes finally had a reward for his relentless pressure with a goal following a Mendoza miss to put the visitors ahead 3-2. Dean Allen responded for the visitors, but one more Orange goal might have been enough to make the difference. The Cedar Ridge contingent began clapping for Corbin, and he came through, getting all of a Luke Phillips shot that came straight down the middle.

It was down to round five. Frank calmly slotted his attempt past Cowan to put Cedar Ridge ahead. The crowd went silent. Orange senior Rohan Kasthuri stepped up to the spot and confidently – or, perhaps, casually – strolled up and curled the ball to the right post – and wide. Corbin, who had dived to his right, threw his arms in the air. The Cedar Ridge huddle at midfield exploded and rushed to join their goalie. As they raced past him at full speed, Kasthuri, seemingly in slow motion, fell to the ground.