Orange Men’s Lacrosse

Usually when the state playoffs roll around, it provides high-achieving teams a chance to deviate from playing against its conference rivals, at least in the early rounds.

You would think that would be the case in lacrosse for Orange and Cedar Ridge.

And you would be wrong.

Orange, which rallied from five goals down to defeat Northwood on Wednesday night, faces a likely matchup against either the Chargers or Walter Williams in the third round. Meanwhile, Cedar Ridge will take on Western Alamance in the opening round on Friday night at Red Wolves Stadium.

The 34-team bracket for the 3A/2A/1A State Men’s Lacrosse championships was released Friday. Orange received a #1 seed and earned a bye into the second round. The Panthers will face the winner of J.F. Webb versus South Brunswick at Auman Stadium on Friday night. If Orange wins, the Panthers will take the winner of Northwood/Walter Williams on May 10.

Cedar Ridge (14-5), after beating Bishop McGuinness and Carrboro in the final week of the regular season, received a #7 seed. The Red Wolves will host Western Alamance on Friday night at Red Wolves Stadium. It will be the first time Cedar Ridge has hosted a game in the state playoffs since the 2017 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship game, when the Red Wolves defeated Chapel Hill to advance to the state championship. That Cedar Ridge squad became the first Hillsborough lacrosse team to win a regional lacrosse championship.

The winner of Cedar Ridge/Western Alamance will travel all the way to Kill Devil Hills to face First Flight on May 10. First Flight, the #2 seed in the East, won the Northeastern Coastal Conference championship and finished 8-3 overall.

Cedar Ridge swept the regular season series from Western Alamance. In Elon, the Red Wolves won 8-6 on March 22. In Hillsborough, Cedar Ridge won 18-12 on April 14 behind six goals from senior Roman Oguntoyinbo.

Orange played five games in a span of seven days to finish the regular season. Included in that frame was a 12-8 victory over Williams on April 22 in Hillsborough where the Panthers didn’t take its first lead until there was 1:03 remaining in the first half. The Panthers led 9-8 at the end of three quarters, then held the Bulldogs scoreless for the final 12:07. Sophomore Connor Kruse scored five goals.

On Wednesday in Hillsborough, Northwood led Orange 10-7 with 7:15 remaining in regulation on the strength of eight goals from junior Taylor Laberge. The Panthers closed out the game with five consecutive goals to win. After junior Jake Wimsatt scored off an assist from Kruse, Joe Cady tied the game on a transition goal, his third of the game. As Cady scored, Northwood was called for a slashing penalty, which led to Tigh Metheney firing in a man-up goal from 15 yards away to put Orange ahead.

Cedar Ridge will enter the postseason the #3 ranked team in the 3A/2A/1A East Region. The Red Wolves grabbed a stunning 8-7 overtime win over Bishop McGuinness at Red Wolves Stadium on Wednesday night. Senior Alex Castro scored the game-winning goal off an assist from Roman Oguntoyinbo. Billy Power led Cedar Ridge with four goals, while Oguntoyinbo, James Clayton, and Erickson Thole scored one each. Freshman Leo Oguntoyinbo earned the win in net.

On Thursday night, Cedar Ridge defeated Carrboro 8-2 at Jaguars Stadium to finish the regular season. Oguntoyinbo had seven goals, a season-high for the Red Wolves. Senior Joshua Taylor came away with four saves, while Leo Oguntoyinbo, who played the second half, had three.

This will be the first time that Orange has ever been a #1 seed in the East Region for lacrosse. Last year, Orange reached the 3A/2A/1A State Quarterfinals. Cedar Ridge was eliminated in the opening round at East Chapel Hill, who eventually played for the state championship.

It was once new to see Orange lacrosse pull an improbable comeback.

Now, it’s becoming as common as conference championships, which is just fine for a growing program that has spent the season changing the balance of Orange County lacrosse.

On March 21, Northwood led Orange 7-1 with 8:47 remaining in the first half in Pittsboro–and the Chargers didn’t even have its second-leading scorer Taylor Laberge in the lineup. His absence was felt in the second half when the Panthers, behind sophomore goalkeeper Katie Wolter, held the Chargers scoreless in the final 13 minutes. The Panthers scored the final seven goals of the game, including three from junior Jake Wimsatt, to win 14-9.

On Wednesday night for the rematch in Auman Stadium, Laberge was back in the Charger lineup. So was junior Will Smith (whose must have been subjected to an endless array of bad jokes during the past five weeks), who had tallied 63 goals going into Tuesday night.

Orange entered the game 9-0 in the Mid-Carolina Conference, but it appeared the presence of Laberge would be enough to break the streak. With the game tied 7-7 going into the fourth quarter, Laberge used his tall yet mobile frame to fire in his sixth, seventh and eighth goals of the game, all within the opening 4 minutes and 45 seconds to put Northwood ahead 10-7 with 7:15 remaining.

Orange assistant coach Franklin Zirkle, the father of head coach Chandler Zirkle, joked afterwards he heard the fat lady singing.

There’s never a fat lady with Orange lacrosse. Ever.

The Panthers closed the game with a 5-0 run over the final seven minutes. Junior Joe Cady, who led Orange with four goals, tied the game with 5:48 remaining off a lead pass from sophomore Connor Kruse. Northwood’s Jeremy Fernandez was subsequently penalized for a slash, leading to Tigh Metheny scoring the game-winning goal off a jump shot from the top of the box to put Orange ahead 11-10. After Wimsatt won the subsequent face-off, Cady muscled in a tight shot from point-blank range to make another improbable comeback complete.

The Panthers would go on to win 12-10, clinching the Mid-Carolina Conference championship. Zirkle became the first coach in Orange lacrosse history to win consecutive conference championships. Last year, Orange won the Conference 9 title.

Orange (13-2, 10-0 in the Mid-Carolina) will wrap up its season at Eastern Alamance in Mebane tonight.

Kruse, who came into the game with 60 goals, was held to a season-low one goal. Kruse opened the Orange scoring with 5:30 remaining in the first quarter. He did assist on three goals on his birthday.

It was another frustrating trip to Hillsborough for the Chargers. Last year in the second round of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs, after Kruse scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal, the Chargers had two potential game-tying goals waved off in the final five minutes.

Back-to-back conference championships is just another previously unattainable stage that Orange has unlocked this spring. In March, the Panthers defeated East Chapel Hill, where Chandler Zirkle played football and lacrosse, for the first time ever. They’ve also set a new school record with 13 wins in a season.

“I feel like we had a really stacked season at the beginning of the year,” Wimsatt said. “We played a lot of really good teams and we’ve grown more comfortable playing at higher levels.”

All of this from a team that has twice as many sophomores (10) as seniors (5).

“We did a lot of leadership development at the start of the season,” Chandler Zirkle said. “We picked Mondays as our leadership academy training. We had about 10-12 kids practice these scenarios about getting down in games, how we talked to our team, how we handle things, these guys have done a phenomenal job.”

Despite being on defense the vast majority of the first quarter, Northwood never trailed in the first half. To start the game, Laberge and Jason Walden each scored transition goals, which were the only possessions that the Chargers could muster because of Wimsatt’s domination at the face-off circle. Wimsatt won 15 face-offs and lost only two. In the draw to open the second half, Northwood didn’t even contest it, allowing Wimsatt to simply pick up the ball from the X.

After Will Smith slapped the rock into the upper-corner of the net with 2:55 remaining in the first quarter to put Northwood ahead 4-1, the Panthers went on a 5-1 run to even the game. Wimsatt tallied his first, Josh Crabtree won a ground ball in front of the net and dumped it over Northwood goalkeeper Robbie Delgado to cut the Charger lead to 4-3.

Metheny took an assist from Kruse to tie the game early in the second quarter.

Cady notched his second goal with 5:26 remaining in the third quarter to give Orange its first lead at 7-6. Laberge, who scored all four of Northwood’s second half goals, tied the game with 4:31 remaining in the third quarter.

Orange is expected to be the #1 seed in the East Region of the 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs when the brackets are released on Saturday.

Another comeback win for the Orange lacrosse team—and another conference championship. On Wednesday night, the Panthers trailed 10-7 with 7:15 remaining against Northwood, but the Panthers finished the game with the final five goals of the game to beat the Chargers 12-10. After Andrew Harris scored to open the rally, Jake Wimsatt notched his second goal off an assist from sophomore Connor Kruse. Junior Joe Lady, who led Orange with four goals, evened the game at 10-10 off another assist from Kruse. Tigh Metheny scored the game-winning goal after the Chargers’ were called for a slashing penalty. Metheny scored off a jump shot from the upper-left box to put the Panthers ahead. Cady ended the game with his fourth goal of the night. On Tuesday night, Cady led Orange with six goals and one assist in a win over Eastern Alamance. Orange coach Chandler Zirklle became the first coach in school history to lead the Panthers to back-to-back conference championships. Dating back to 2021, Orange has won 14 consecutive conference games. They will try to finish undefeated in the Mid-Carolina Conference on Thursday night when they travels to Eastern Alamance.

Photo from Methodist University

Cy Horner: Horner, who played at Orange, is midway through his freshman season at Division III Methodist University. On Saturday, Horner scored two goals and added two assists in a 15-13 loss to LaGrange College. Horner fired eleven shots for the Monarchs. Against William Peace on April 20 in Raleigh at WakeMed Soccer Park, Horner scored two goals. This season, Horner is second on the team with 27 goals. He is also second in scoring with 45 points. He had his first hat trick against Marietta on March 9, when he scored five goals. Against Greensboro College on March 25, Horner scored three goals. Methodist is 8-8 overall, 3-5 in the USA South Athletic Conference.

Chase Finley: Former Cedar Ridge lacrosse goalkeeper Chase Finley is now starting regularly for the Division II Shorter University Hawks in Rome, GA. To open the season, Shorter routed Point University 23-6. Finley earned the win in net making nine saves in 45 minutes of action. On March 26, Shorter defeated Davis & Elkins 11-9 in Elkins, WV. Finley made four saves in 51 minutes Shorter is 3-12 overall this season, 0-4 in the Gulf South Conference. Most recently, Lander University defeated Shorter 25-4 in Greenwood, S.C. Finley made 16 saves against 27 shots in 45 minutes of action. Finley has started all 13 games this season for the Hawks. He has made 211 saves with a 19.50 goals against average. On April 13, Pfeiffer rolled past Brevard 24-7 in Misenheimer. Jones assisted on a goal by Quinn Becraft in the second quarter. Pfeiffer is 10-3 overall, 6-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference.

Jaylin Jones: The Division III Pfeiffer Falcons men’s lacrosse team lost to Piedmont 9-3 on Saturday in Demorest, GA. Jaylin Jones, a senior who played at Orange, had three ground balls and created one turnover for the Falcons. On April 16, Pfeiffer defeated LaGrange 20-11 at Panther Field in Georgia. Jones scored an unassisted goal for Pfeiffer in the first quarter to put the Falcons ahead 6-3. He added an assist on a goal by Brayden Sokolowski in the third quarter. Jones also amassed two ground balls and created two turnovers.

Dylan Boyer: The Division II Queen’s University men’s lacrosse team won five of its last six to conclude the regular season. On April 6, the Royals defeated North Greenville University 20-6 at the Queen’s Sports Complex in Charlotte. Boyer played for the Royals off the bench. On Saturday, the Royals routed Catawba 21-8 in Charlotte. Boyer entered the game late. Queen’s, who is reportedly exploring jumping to Division I, defeated Newberry in the quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Tournament. The Royals, who are 12-4, will face top-seeded Limestone on Friday afternoon in Hickory.

Thomas Poole: The Division III Greensboro College men’s lacrosse team continues its season. Poole, a former Cedar Ridge defenseman, has played in 13 games for the Pride this season, starting three. Poole started in an 28-1 win over Warren Wilson on April 6 in Greensboro, which the Pride won 28-1. Poole also started on April 2 when Greensboro defeated Huntingdon 16-10. Against Averett on March 19, which Greensboro won 17-2, Poole created three turnovers and scooped up three ground balls. Greensboro is 9-6 overall, 5-3 in the USA South Athletic Conference. The Pride closes the regular season against LaGrange College in LaGrange, GA on Saturday.

Kate Burgess: The University of North Carolina rowing team continues its spring season at the Lake Wheeler Invitational in Raleigh. The Tar Heels finished with five points. Burgess participated with the second four. UNC finished fourth among five teams in heat 1. They finished with a time of 8:03.855. Syracuse finished first, while UCF was second.

The five seniors on the Orange lacrosse team were honored during Tuesday night’s win over Eastern Alamance at Auman Stadium. Together, Jack DiFabio, Brantley Porterfield, Austin Dillard, Zack Martin and Joey Bernardo have helped Orange set a school record for most wins in a season. The Panthers defeated the Eagles 19-5 for its 12th victory of the season. Orange is also 9-0 in the Mid-Carolina Conference. With one more win, this senior class will become the first in school history to win back-to-back conference championships in lacrosse. DiFabio, the son of Gwen and Mike DiFabio of Caldwell, is a starting midfielder. Porterfield is a regular defensive player for an Orange team that has made its deepest runs in the state playoffs over the past four years. Dillard played goalkeeper in the second half against the Eagles. Orange will try to complete its run to another conference championship on Wednesday nigh when they host powerful Northwood at Auman Stadium. The opening face-off will be at 6 PM.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is lacrosse midfielder Connor Kruse. On Thursday night, Orange returned to action and edged Jordan 14-13. Kruse had four goals and three assists. The following night, Orange pulled away from Williams and won 12-8, keeping the Bulldogs scoreless in the final 12:08. Kruse finished with five goals and two assists. Kruse is the leading scorer for an Orange team that is undefeated in the Mid-Carolina Conference at 8-0. Kruse, as a freshman, was a prominent player on Orange’s conference championship team last season, which advanced to the 3A/2A/1A State Quarterfinals. Kruse is the son of Travis Kruse, a former lacrosse player at UNC and Johns Hopkins. It was clear this would be a solid season for Orange from the very beginning. On March 2, Orange defeated East Chapel Hill at Dave Thaden Stadium, the first time ever the Panthers defeated the Wildcats in lacrosse. The Panthers will face Eastern Alamance on Tuesday at Auman Stadium, then take on Northwood in Hillsborough. Orange will conclude the regular season with a road trip to Eastern Alamance on Thursday night in Mebane. If Orange wins two of its three games this week, they will win the Mid-Carolina Conference championship under head coach Chandler Zirkle.