Cedar Ridge High School

Photo by Braeden Wilbourn 

Technically, summer doesn’t end until September 22.

Yet around Orange and Cedar Ridge High Schools, the term “summer” is already being spoken in past tense.

Practice for fall sports got underway on Thursday and there was something in the air late on Friday night at Cedar Ridge’s football practice field that hasn’t been felt in years.

Stability.

Every year since 2018, Cedar Ridge has had to deal either with the loss of a head coach (on two separate occasions, the departures came during the first week of August practice) or word that there would be no varsity team due to a lack of players (which happened in 2018 and 2021).

Not only will the Friday Night Lights shine brightly at Red Wolves Stadium this fall, but the practice field lights were on for the first Friday in August.

Head coach Brent Bailey went back to his Clayton roots and held a practice with his newest team at 10PM on Friday night. The Midnight Madness event continued at 12:30, with humidity at 93%, though the temperature will still comfortable and players expressed interest in doing it again next year.

It was actually an offshoot of a concept that the original Cedar Ridge football coach, Lou Geary, did in the mid-2000s.

“It gets the kids excited and it allows the parents to come out and watch,” Bailey said. “It gets the community excited so that’s what I’m trying to build.”

The entire Cedar Ridge volleyball team, along with various fans,  carried along lawn chairs to watch the workouts and enjoyed pizza and other refreshments when it all ended. So did several former players, including former running back Tyler Fields, who graduated in June.

This could have been another summer of uncertainty for Cedar Ridge football. Bailey still lives in Clayton and endures a 75-90 daily drive to Hillsborough. The job at Corinth-Holders in Wendell opened last spring and he could have easily applied for it. To the surprise of many locally, Person head coach Carl Smith opted to depart Roxboro to become the next leader of the Pirates.

“That’s how much I love being here,” Bailey said. “I think we’re going to see a much improved season this year. We had a good year in the weight room. Before I got here, we weren’t in the weight room at all. That’s going to help us in our conditioning.”

Rather than leaving, Bailey bolstered his staff. He added Ryan Johnson, a former head coach at Jordan-Matthews High and defensive coordinator at East Chapel Hill and Burlington Cummings. He will be the new defensive coordinator. The new quarterbacks coach, Phil Credle, previously was an assistant at Cleveland High in Clayton.

There’s also Verdis Brown, a native of Chicago who was an interior lineman at the University of Illinois before transferring to Campbell University. He’s played for head coaches Lovie Smith, Bret Bielema and Mike Minter.

The new secondary coach, Rahim Mateen, played college football at Division III Averett University before he transferred to Tiffin University.

“Our coaching staff, I would put them against any staff in the state of North Carolina,” Bailey said. “I tell them all the time that I’m the placeholder. I tell them to just coach because they’re not going to get micromanaged by me. They’re all really good and I’m blessed to have those guys with us.”

The best news of all is that Bailey expects 44 players to be in uniform once everyone returns from various summer commitments. It’s the best turnout for Cedar Ridge since Scott Loosemoore was the head coach from 2016-2018.

“Last year, when we started in the summer, we were only at about 20,” Bailey said. “We’re nearly double that starting out this year. We have a lot of young talent. Our junior class is loaded right now. It makes up about 18 of us. We have some seniors coming back from last year that have some experience.”

Bailey understood the obstacles he was facing when he accepted the Cedar Ridge job in 2023. The Red Wolves went 0-10 last season with just 42 points scored against the Bermuda Triangle that is Alamance County football, which comprises two-thirds of the Central Conference. His top two quarterbacks from 2023, Mason Cates and Tom Crawford, both graduated. Junior Thomas McDermott, who also had playing time behind center last year, is penciled in as the starter for this year.

“He’s been looking really sharp in practice,” Bailey said. “He’s taking ownership of being the leader in the huddle. Right now, it’s his spot to lose.”

Center Aaron Oliveras will move to Averett University later this month.

“You can’t replace a Mason Cates,” Bailey said. “He give everything for Cedar Ridge football. So it’s hard to replace him. We’re asking multiple people to come out and give the type of effort he gave and provide the impact he had in the locker room. I think we have some seniors who have picked up that slack.”

Luis Donjuan is expected to be the new center.

As the midnight hour came and went early Saturday morning, Bailey and his players started to pick up the equipment. Players were excited, as they usually are at the start of practice. Whether that paves the way for wins remains to be seen, starting with the August 23 season opener against East Chapel Hill at Red Wolves Stadium.

Though it’s a young Cedar Ridge team in a tough league, there was an area of something that has been missing around Red Wolves football for a long time.

Optimism.

From the time she was born, Kimber Shambley has been raised to be an athlete.

And to play in the mountains.

Her father, Kevin, was the centerfielder for the Orange baseball team in 1992, which won Dean Dease’s first PAC-6 Conference championship. In the 2nd round of the 4A State Playoffs against Anson County, Kevin trotted down the 3rd base line with his right arm in the air as he scored the game-winning run off a walkoff single by Jonathan Hoffman in the eighth inning of a dramatic 8-7 win. Shambley led off the inning by reaching on a drag bunt.  It was the deepest playoff run (aside from another team in 1995) that Orange would ever make at the 4A level under Dease.

Absorbing the intense atmosphere in the stands that late May evening (the Panthers home dugout was on the third base line in those days) was Orange cheerleader Missy Osgood, Kevin’s girlfriend who logged plenty of innings in the bleachers in the early 1990s. In addition to Orange games, she was right there during his junior Babe Ruth games in the summer when the games would stretch on well into the night.

Years later, Kevin and Missy’s daughter has made a name for herself in a related sport on the western end of Hillsborough.

Kimber Shambley, the starting first baseman for the Cedar Ridge softball team, has committed to play at Western Carolina. She is the latest Division I recruit from a program that sent Takia Nichols to North Carolina Central, Tori Dalehite to UNC Greensboro and Rivers Andrews to UNC Wilmington.

“I’ve wanted to go there since I was in seventh grade,” Shambley said. “My first visit there was very nice. It was my number one choice. I love it in Cullowhee. I love the family aspect of this team. They’re very family oriented and very close together. Their players are very welcoming and so is their coaching staff.”

Shambley has gone to camps in Cullowhee since she was in eighth grade and makes Haywood’s Smokehouse restaurant in Dillsboro appointment dining on each visit.

In 2024, Shambley led Cedar Ridge in four offensive categories, including eight home runs and 34 RBIs. She delivered her biggest blast in the most dramatic moment of the season for the Red Wolves against defending 3A Eastern Regional champion Western Alamance in Hillsborough in April. After the Warriors erased a 6-0 deficit with six runs in the top of the seventh, Shambley hit the first walk-off home run of her career to deliver a victory on Senior night.

Against Orange on April 4, Shambley blasted a solo home run off Caden Robinson that sailed over the centerfield fence down to the Panthers’ football/lacrosse practice field.

Kimber started her career playing tee ball in the Hillsborough Youth Athletic Association, one of only two girls in the entire league playing against boys. A year later, she started travel baseball with the Hillsbrough Hawks, then switched to softball with the Royals out of Burlington.

Barry Lowry, a longtime Cedar Ridge assistant coach whose daughters Ava and Charlotte played with the Red Wolves and advanced to the college level, started a softball team in Burlington. Shambley joined the Carolina Extreme in its first year and remained with them under its rebranded moniker of Starz Gold. Her current team is the Nationals under head coach Greg Kennedy.

“He (Kennedy) has been a huge help in the recruiting process.” Shambley said.

Since she was 12, Shambley has taken hitting lessons at Southern Baseball Academy with Robert Hege, an assistant with the Cedar Ridge baseball team.

Her coach at Cedar Ridge, Allen Byrd, was front and center in helping Shambley develop, as well.

“He helped me get a lot of extra reps,” Shambley said. “He helped me become the player I am today.”

Last season, Shambley helped Cedar Ridge reach the state playoffs for the third straight year. In her sophomore season, she hit .346 with 16 RBIs.

“I try to keep myself humble,” Shambley said. “I try to work to get to a better position. I’ve always worked to be a better player but I never thought in my head that I was a college player. I worked to get to that level.”

Ivy Garner: The North Carolina Courage’s U-23 team won the USL W League championship at the WRAL Soccer Complex in Cary last month. Garner, who played soccer and tennis at Cedar Ridge her freshman year in 2018-2019 before she transferred to Eno River Academy, assisted on the game-winning goal in the championship game against the Colorado Storm on July 20. Garner sent a crossing pass to Macey Bader in the 66th minute. Garner, who is entering her junior year at Liberty University, scored seven goals in 15 games with the Courage this season. North Carolina went undefeated in 12 matches, finishing with an 11-0-1 record to win the Southeast Division championship The Courage U-23 squad reached the USL W League championship game in 2023, as well, falling to Indy XI in the final. Garner will return to action when Liberty travels to High Point on August 15.

Mia Davidson: A summer that started in Japan, continued to Italy will end in Rosemont, Illinois for Davidson. Davidson earned the silver medal for the United States softball team in the World Baseball Softball Coalition Women’s Softball World Cup in Castions di Strada Italy. The American romped through group play, winning its first six games by a combined margin of 32-4. In the Gold Medal game, Japan defeated the U.S. 6-1, scoring six unanswered runs. Earlier in the tournament, the Americans blanked Japan 2-0. Davidson played in two games during the World Cup. Last weekend, Davidson started her third season with Athletes Unlimited. She suited up for Team Alexander for three games at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, IL. For the week, Davidson finished with 28 points in Athletes Unlimited unique system where players earned individual points based on their performance. Team Alexander dropped all three of its games. Davidson went 2-for-8 and set a new league record for career hit by pitches. This weekend, Davidson will play for Team Skylar Wallace after being selected in the eighth round of this week’s draft.

Bryse Wilson: Going into Friday, the Milwaukee Brewers lead the St. Louis Cardinals by five-and-a-half games in the National League Central. Wilson continues to work middle relief. On Tuesday, Wilson threw two innings and allowed four hits with one walk and three strikeouts in a 5-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves at American Family Field. Wilson didn’t allow any runs. On Monday, Wilson threw the ninth inning in a 8-3 win over Atlanta. He allowed one solo home run from Sean Murphy.

Ryan Hench: The Burlington Sock Puppets of the Appalachian League ended its season in the Eastern Division Championship game on Thursday night. The Danville Otterbots defeated the Sock Puppets with a walkoff double to win 3-2 at American Legion Field. Hench, who redshirted for North Carolina as a freshman last spring, went 2-3 with a 5.71 ERA for Burlington this summer. In eight games, Hench struck out 41 and walked 21. In his final appearance of the regular season, Hench struck out eight over four innings in a start against the Johnson City Doughboys. He allowed four runs off seven hits in a no-decision. Burlington reached the Appalachian League playoffs for the second straight year after finishing 26-22, good enough for second place in the Eastern Division, five games behind Danville.

Payton Wilson: After being selected in the third round of April’s NFL Draft, Wilson will make his unofficial debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Houston Texans next Friday at Acrisure Stadium. It will be Pittsburgh’s preseason opener.

Trenton Gill: After being released by the Chicago Bears last spring, Gill will make his debut for the Denver Broncos on August 11 against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Gill will try to win the starting job from veteran Riley Dixon, who was signed by the Broncos in 2023 after a season with the Los Angeles Rams. Gill is the first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf to play in the NFL.

Following a season where the Cedar Ridge baseball team made the state playoffs for the third straight year, four Red Wolves were named to the All-Central Conference team.

Senior pitcher/utility man Mason Cates, junior Quinn Finnegan, sophomores Nick Aitkin and Ian McGuffey were honored after a vote of Central Conference coaches.

Cates, who committed to Catawba Valley Community College last winter, opened the Central Conference season by earning a win over Walter Williams in Burlington on March 12. Cates threw five innings with five strikeouts as the Red Wolves defeated the Bulldogs 7-6. In addition, Cates had an RBI single in the fourth inning. In the first inning, he had an RBI triple that reached the right field gap as Cedar Ridge stormed out to a 2-0 lead.

Cates also earned the save in a win at Chapel hill on April 24.

Against Orange in the state playoffs on May 7, Cates slammed a two-run homer over the centerfield fence that gave the Red Wolves a lead that would carry through for almost the entire night. Cates final game as a Red Wolf was one of his very best. he went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two stolen bases. In addition, Cates had a two-run double in the opening inning of a 15-5 win over Jordan-Matthews on March 13.

Cedar Ridge was one of only two teams from the Central Conference to beat Williams in Burlington this season.

Finnegan, in his third year as a starter, earned the save against Williams. He threw four shutout innings in a win over Chapel Hill at Tiger Field in April. Finnegan, who often started in right field when he wasn’t pitching, laced an RBI double. Later, John Grove would drive Finnegan in for a 3-2 win. It was a victory that paved the way to a six-game winning streak to conclude the regular season.

Against Eastern Alamance on April 19, Finnegan had a season-high five RBIs  in a 12-6 win in Mebane.

Ian McGuffey hit a walkoff single to help Cedar Ridge defeat Person March 19 in Hillsborough. The Red Wolves trailed 4-1 going into the seventh inning, but Cedar Ridge rallied to hand Person what was its first loss of the season. McGuffey wound up earning the win on the mound, striking out four over two shutout innings.

On Senior night against Western Alamance on April 26, McGuffey earned another win on the mound, allowing only two hits across six-plus innings as the Red Wolves defeated the Warriors 3-1. McGuffey also drove in Cedar Ridge’s opening run with an RBI line drive single down the left field line. In a 13-5 win over Carrboro on May 1, McGuffey had two RBIs.

Aitkin, the younger brother of former Cedar Ridge three-sport athlete Olivia Aitkin, threw three-and-one-thirds innings of shutout baseball in a 2-1 win over Western Alamance in nine innings at Elon. Aitkin, who played regularly as a freshman, often started at shortstop. Aitkin also scored the first run in the state playoff win over Orange during the Cates home run. Aitkin filled many roles for a Cedar Ridge team that made the state playoffs in a deep league. All seven teams from the Central Conference made the state playoffs.

After a disappointing start to April, Cedar Ridge rebounded and played its best baseball of the season during May. The Red Wolves started to turn the tide with its victory over Eastern Alamance on April 19, its third straight win over the Eagles in Mebane. From there, Cedar Ridge swept a two-game series against Western Alamance, including a marathon win in Elon that went ten innings. In the final week of the regular season, they defeated Carrboro, who claimed the #12 seed in the state playoffs, and Knightdale.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior swimmer Nikhil Agans. In February, Agans finished seventh in the 200 yard freestyle during the 3A State Swimming Championships at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. Agans also finished eighth in the 100 yard freestyle. In January, Agans won two Central Conference Championships at the Orange County Sportsplex. He earned the gold medal in the 100 yard freestyle, setting the school record of 1:51.70. He also teamed with Phillip Cauwels, Jacob Olmstead and Christopher Seawell to win the 200 yard freestyle relay. In 2023, Agans finished fifth in the 100 yard freestyle in the 3A State Championships. In February, Agans finished third in the 200 yard freestyle at the Central Regional Championships in the Greensboro Aquatic Center. He also finished third in the 100 freestyle. Agans has been the most consistent male swimmer for Cedar Ridge swimming the past four years, qualifying for the state championships three times. He has made All-Central Conference each of the past three years. In 2023, Agans won the conference championship in the 200 freestyle He broke two school records during his stint with the Red Wolves. Nikhil will graduate next month during a ceremony at Red Wolves Stadium after making his mark in the swimming pool for four years.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Nikhil Agans

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Tori Dalehite: UNC Greensboro ended its season one game short of reaching the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans lost to Chattanooga 5-0 in the Southern Conference championship game at UNCG Softball Stadium in Greensboro. In her final game, Dalehite had an RBI off a bases-loaded walk in the fourth inning that narrowed the Mocs lead to 4-2. She also scored in the seventh inning off a single by Brooklyn Maxwell. Dalehite started all four games in the Southern Conference Tournament, including the opener where she scored a run off a bases-loaded walk in the first inning in a 13-5 win over Samford. This season, Dalehite was third on the team with a .302 batting average. She played in 51 games, starting 42. She finished with four home runs and 22 RBIs. Dalehite ends her career with 123 games played, a .250 batting average. Dalehite reached the NCAA Tournament in her freshman year. She will start work at Emerge Orthopedic while applying to physical therapy school next fall.

Mia Davidson-Smith: The all-time leading home run hitter in Southeastern Conference history is in her first season with the Denso Bright Pegasus of Japan’s Diamond Softball League, the most storied professional softball league in the world. Through 12 games, Davidson is hitting .241 with two home runs and six RBIs. Denso is in fifth place in the East District with a 6-8 record. The Pegasus are five games behind the Bic Camera Takasaki Bee Queen for first place. Davidson will also participate in Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby X this summer. The competition will have teams competing in groups of three, with each team featuring a former Major League star, a women’s baseball player or softball player and a local baseball player. Home Run Derby X will start in Fort Wayne, IN on August 10, Alburquerque, NM on August 23, Nashville, TN on August 31, and Durham Athletic Park on September 7th. However, Davidson won’t play on the Durham date because she will return to Japan at that point.

Carson Bradsher: Bradsher was the only former Hillsborough product to reach the NCAA Division I Softball Tournament this year. South Carolina Upstate won the Big South Tournament and was sent to the Tuscaloosa Regional, where the Spartans lost to Alabama and Clemson. This season, Bradsher played in 12 games and went 3-for-4 with six runs scored. South Carolina Upstate went 30-23, 13-5 in the Big South. The Spartans defeated Winthrop to win the Big South championship.

Takia Nichols: North Carolina Central came up just short of winning its second straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship. Morgan State eliminated the Eagles in an elimination game on May 10 in Norfolk, VA. Central finished the year 20-36, 14-7 in the MEAC. Nichols, a rising junior, played in 40 games. She started 34 and hit .282 with one home run and eight RBIs.

Lauren Jackson: The Lenior-Rhyne Bears reached the Division II Women’s College World Series for the first time ever this season. The Bears’ season came to an end on Wednesday when they fell to the University of Texas-Tyler 5-2 at Soldier’s Creek Park in Longwood, FL. The Bears won the Southeast Regional championship, beating Wingate in three games in a best-of-three series. This season, Jackson played in 32 games, starting 20. She hit .241 with two home runs and nine RBIs.

Ava Lowry: The Division III North Carolina Wesleyan softball team ended the season 22-19, 11-7 in the USA South Conference. After a third place finish in the USA South, the Battling Bishops were eliminated in two games in the conference tournament. In the final game of the season against Greensboro, Lowry went 3-for-3 with a double, but the Pride won 3-0. Lowry hit .302 this season. Starting all 29 games she played, Lowry had one home runs and 16 RBIs.

Kelsey Tackett: In her first season with N.C. Wesleyan, Tackett played in two games.

Grace Andrews: Carolina University’s season ended in the South Region of the National Christian College Athletic Association South Region Tournament in Augusta, GA on May 9. The University of Fort Lauderdale defeated the Bruins 5-0 to end the season. Andrews started at shortstop in all four games in the regional. In a 9-0 win over Trinity Baptist on May 8, Andrews went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and a double. Andrews hit a home run, which turned out to be the game-winner, in the Bruins 5-4 win over Paine College on May 7. Andrews’ two-run blast in the fifth put Carolina ahead 5-2. Andrews, a junior, hit .356 this season, which was the fourth-highest average on the team. She had two home runs and 19 RBIs. Carolina finished 24-20 this season.

Breezy Foster: The Wake Tech softball team finished the year 15-22, 11-16 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association. Foster played 33 games and had a .149 batting average with five RBIs. The win total was a eight-game improvement from last year, when Wake Tech went 7-27. The 15-22 record was the best mark for Wake Tech since records started being kept by the school in 2016.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is junior first baseman Kimber Shambley. This season, Shambley led the Red Wolves in home runs and RBIs. She hit eight home runs and 34 RBIs. In Cedar Ridge’s final home game of 2024, Shambley hit a walkoff home run to defeat Western Alamance 7-6. It was the first time Cedar Ridge has defeated Western Alamance since the two teams became conference rivals in 2022. Shambley also had a three-run homer in the Red Wolves 13-4 win over Northwood in Pittsboro on April 25. She also had a three-run homer against Eastern Alamance on April 23 in Mebane. In an 8-6 win over Person on April 12 in Roxboro, Shambley had a two-run single. Last fall, Shambley announced that she would play for Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. The daughter of Kevin and Missy Shambley, Kimber hit .449 as the Red Wolves reached the state playoffs for the third straight year. At one point this year, Shambley had a four-game home run streak, starting with a dinger in a win over Person in Hillsborough on March 19. She followed with homers against Walter Williams, Southern Alamance and Orange, which came in the first inning at Panther Field and gave Cedar Ridge an early lead. Next year, Shambley will be a senior leader for a more experienced squad ready to move upward in the Central Conference.

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There have already been plenty of remarkable achievements for the Cedar Ridge women’s soccer team this year.

They now have 14 wins, more than the 2018 squad that had freshman Ivy Garner, who now plays at Liberty University.

On Monday night, the Red Wolves won its first home playoff game since 2005.

Junior Katie Paulakonis scored two goals in the opening eight minutes as the Red Wolves defeated Richlands 3-1 at Red Wolves Stadium. Freshman Kate Finnegan assisted on the opening two goals.

The Red Wolves, seeded #16, will face conference rival Western Alamance in the second round in Elon. The Warriors defeated another Central Conference team, Walter Williams 6-2 on Monday.

Cedar Ridge’s last home win in the state playoffs came back in 2005 when they were a 2A team. They defeated Durham School of the Arts 2-0 to move into the state quarterfinals, where they fell to Western Guilford. That Red Wolf team finished 16-1-1.

This Cedar Ridge team is now the most successful team since that squad from 19 years ago.

Much of the credit goes to first-year head coach Sam Semerzier, who now had the Red Wolves on a four-game home winning streak.

“Given the passion of this team, I thought this was possible at the beginning of the year,” Semerzier said after Cedar Ridge’s win over Williams last week, which ended the regular season. “They had the thirst to thrive. They had the urge to win from the first time I met them. Everything that was burning in their hearts in coming to life now.”

Cedar Ridge’s last playoff win came in 2018, when they defeated West Carteret 3-0 in Morehead City.

The Red Wolves scored on its first possession just 80 seconds into the game. As the Wildcats tried to mount an attack, centerback Adelynn Nasseri cut off a pass and cleared the ball upfield to Kate Finnegan. As Paulakonis went on a mad dash past the midfield line, Finnegan kneed the ball past a Wildcat midfielder and directed a gorgeous longball ahead. Paulakonis’ won a race against Richland centerback Ester Zapata and had only goalkeeper Abbigail Kaestner in front of her. Paulakonis’ dribbled around Kaestner and, with a tight angle, directed the ball towards the net with her left field. The ball rolled tenuously along the line before it crossed over just as it tapped the far post.

Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Ellamarie Perel stopped an immediate response from 20 yards away by sophomore Kamrey Watkins, who finished the season with 34 goals.

The Red Wolves would strike again only three minutes later when Paulakonis took a deep throw-in from midfield and banked it off Finnegan’s corner went directly into the nine-yard box, where Paulakonis curved through unmarked and sent a half-volley directly to the back of the net for what turned out to be the game-winning goal with 35:23 remaining in the first half.

Paulakonis nearly had a hat trick on a free kick knuckleball from 23 yards away with 21:30 remaining in the first half that nearly cleared Kaestner’s head below the crossbar, but it sailed over the net.

Watkins provided the Wildcats in the best chance in the opening 40 minutes when midfielder Torrie McAllister stripped the ball away in Richlands’ attacking end and fed Watkins, who cut across midfield and got past Natasha Buchler-Fosado, but Perel stopped a line drive from ten yards away. With 5:42 remaining, Watkins took a long counter pass, but Rachel Alverson raced her down and squared up. It led to a long shot by Cadence Brown that missed wide. Watkins fired a 21-yard heave in the waning minutes that led to Perel’s fourth save.

Watkins had the forest serious attempt in the second half when she took a long clearance pass following a Cedar Ridge free kick, but Alverson ran her down and conceded a corner. The subsequent cross was cleared by Nasseri.

Paulakonis was fouled just outside of the box with 29:45 remaining in regulation, but her shot from 19 yards skipped off the top of the crossbar, the Red Wolves ninth shot.

The Red Wolves earned its third goal with 19:34 remaining a throw-in by Finnegan. Paulakonis bounced the ball off her chest and it rebounded to Celine Galla, who shot off a bounce inside the box went off Kaetner’s hands, then the crossbar. On the rebound, Galla jumped and tapped the ball off her head into the net and was immediately mobbed after her first playoff goal.

Richlands earned a penalty kick after a foul on Cedar Ridge in the box. Facing off against Abigail Proffitt, Perel made a diving save to the left, leading to another celebration from her teammates. Immediately afterwards, Brown sent a corner kick that was headed in by Watkins for the only Wildcats goal.

Perel finished with nine saves.