Orange Men’s Soccer

It’s already that time.

The dog days of October are here. Games that will decide Central Carolina Conference champions will start as soon as tonight when Cedar Ridge volleyball faces Northwood at Red Wolves Gymnasium. The Red Wolves swept the Chargers on September 2 in Pittsboro, Northwood’s only league loss. If Cedar Ridge wins tonight, they essentially have a three game lead (they’ll control the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Chargers, along with a two-game lead In the standings) with four conference games remaining.

Last week, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association released its first round of RPI rankings for volleyball, which revealed positive news for both Hillsborough volleyball teams. Cedar Ridge was ranked #1 in the 3A East region, even after its loss to D.H. Conley (which is a 4A team) on Monday. The Red Wolves were the highest among five Central Carolina teams ranked in the top 15 for the region. Person was #3, Northwood #4, Orange was #7 and Eastern Alamance #15.

J.H. Rose was #2.

One wrinkle that stood out from an Orange perspective was the Lady Panthers have played possible the toughest schedule of any team in the region. The winning percentage for Orange’s opponents was .715, the only scored in the region with a figure in the 70% range. Cedar Ridge, which has already played the defending 3A State Champions twice, was second in the region at .691.

Volleyball isn’t the only sport where conference championships are being contested, of course. In women’s tennis, Cedar Ridge pulled off its biggest win of the season on Monday night, beating Northwood 5-4 at Red Wolves Tennis Courts. The Chargers entered the match 5-0 in the CCC. Orange is jostling with the Chargers and Williams for a spot in the 3A Dual Team Playoffs, which will start next month.

Oh, and the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team ended last week on a three-game winning streak, its longest in three years.

With that in mind, here are this week’s Magnificent Seven, which honor the best individual performances over the past week.

Darius Corbett: The Orange striker for the men’s soccer team had a hat trick against Southern Durham on Friday night. It was Corbett’s second hat trick of the season. On August 28, he had three goals against Henderson Collegiate at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Corbett leads Orange with seven goals this season.

Caitlin Carden: In wins over Eastern Alamance and Western Alamance, Carden collectively had 60 assists. In Orange’s 3-0 win over the Warriors, Carden had a double-double with 27 assists and ten digs as the Lady Panthers improved to 6-4, 3-3 in the CCC.

Erin Sollars: There’s no such thing as a short Orange-Western Alamance tennis match. Earlier this month, the Lady Panthers and the Warriors played a dual match that lasted well into the night. Last Thursday’s match in Hillsborough was no different, with Orange pulling out a 6-3 win. Two of the five singles matches went to 10-point, 3rd set tiebreakers. Sophomore Erin Sollars won her match at #3 singles 6-0, 6-1. Then in doubles, Sollars teamed with senior Jera Hargrove to win at #2 doubles 8-1 and wrap up the Orange win.

Chris Munoz: A strong week for Cedar Ridge men’s soccer continued with a 2-0 win over Eastern Alamance and a 8-1 victory over Person. Munox scored the game-winning goal against the Eagles. Against the Rockets, he scored two goals as the Red Wolves improved to 4-7, 3-1 in the CCC.

Adeline Cummings: Another strong Cedar Ridge women’s tennis freshmen. Cummings won her #6 singles match against Durham School of the Arts on Friday. Last Wednesday, Cedar Ridge defeated Person 6-3. Cummings started at #2 singles and captured her match 6-0, 6-2. Cummings is 4-3 in singles matches this year.

Cameron Lloyd: The Cedar Ridge junior outside hitter continues to make her case for Big 8 Volleyball Player of the Year. After the Red Wolves suffered its first loss of the season against Conley, the Red Wolves rebounded by making quick work of East Chapel Hill 3-0 on Tuesday in Hillsborough. Lloyd tied her season-high with 19 kills. She also had 18 digs. The Red Wolves impressively put away Person in Roxboro on Thursday to complete a season-sweep of the Rockets.

Olivia Aitkin: Olivia is a three-sport athlete at Cedar Ridge. She is best known for playing centerfield for the softball team, but she has also qualified for the Big 8 Conference swimming championships. She is also a golfer. Last week, Aitken finished in the top 10 during a Central Carolina Conference meet at the Valley Golf Course in Burlington. It was her second top-10 finish of the year. On top of that, Aitkin also committed to play softball at Amherst College in Amherts, MA.

Men’s Soccer: Cedar Ridge 2, Eastern Alamance 0

Days after scoring two goals against Orange in the Hillsborough Derby, Cedar Ridge’s Chris Mendez added to his team-lead in goals.

On Monday night, Mendez scored the game-winning goal as Cedar Ridge defeated Eastern Alamance 2-0 at Fred Brady Stadium in Mebane. Senior Jorge Salazar added insurance for the Red Wolves, who improved to 3-7 overall, 2-1 in the Central Carolina Conference. It was the second straight conference win for the Red Wolves.

Mendez now has seven goals on the season. Salazar is second on the team with seven points.

Goalkeeper Benjamin Weaver earned his second clean sheet of the season. It was his second straight win in net.

The Red Wolves were supposed to face Western Alamance on Wednesday night at Red Wolves Stadium, but the game was rained out. Cedar Ridge will host Person on Thursday night in Hillsborough.

Orange 4, Person 1

Orange co-Captain Jasper Tell scored the game-winning goal as the Panthers earned its first win in the Central Carolina Conference over Person on Monday night at Orange Soccer Park.

Junior Dylan Silverman assisted on the opening goal, then added Orange’s second goal later in the first half. In the second half, junior Cooper Zinn notched his third goal of the season. In the final ten minutes, junior Jack Pendergast added the first goal of his varsity career.

Orange’s trip to Northwood on Wednesday night was rained out. The Panthers will travel to Southern Durham on Friday.

Women’s tennis: Williams 5, Cedar Ridge 1:

Last Wednesday, the Red Wolves had just enough time to squeeze in six singles matches against Williams. Three of them went to 10-point tiebreakers in the third set, all of them claimed by Williams.

Red Wolves senior Chloe Patz won the Red Wolves only match at #2 singles over Haven Amick of Williams 7-6, 6-4. Cedar Ridge is 3-3 overall, 2-3 in the CCC. Their match scheduled for Wednesday against Person was rained out. The Red Wolves host Durham School of the Arts on Thursday.

Cross Country:

Two months after finishing 2nd in the state in the 3,200 meters, Orange senior Spencer Hampton made a major impression by finishing 2nd in the Friday Night Lights Festival, one of the biggest cross country events of the regular season at Ivey Redmon Sports Complex at Mount Tabor on September 10.

Hampton finished 2nd out of 238 runners with a time of 16:07.30. The only runner in the entire field to finish ahead of Hampton was North Lincoln’s Stephen Fernetti, who came in six seconds ahead of Hampton.

The strong showing by Hampton helped Orange finish fifth among 30 teams. In addition to Hampton, Orange’s Gabriel Schmid finished 10th. Sophomore Alden Cathey came in 23rd. Senior Ethan Horton came in 83rd and junior James Wheelis came in 93rd.

Providence captured the men’s team competition.

In the women’s race, Orange freshman Carolina Cathey was the top finisher, coming in 123rd. Kassi Scarantino, Sophia Schultz, Maggie Saunders and Margaret Hales also competed for Orange.

Women’s golf:

The latest Central Carolina Conference women’s golf meet was held at the Valley in Burlington on Monday. Orange senior Sarah Durham, this week’s Orange Panther of the Week, finished fifth overall out of 23 competitors with a 51. It was her third top five finish in three matches this year.

Sarah’s younger sister, Samantha, finished only one stroke behind her sister with a 52. Shannon Dorsi, Kayla Pope and Lucia Godinez also competed for Orange.

Cedar Ridge’s Olivia Aitkin tied for 9th with a 59.

Northwood won the team meet with a 151, two strokes better than Eastern Alamance’s 153. Orange came in fourth out of five teams with 168 strokes.

The Orange men’s soccer team has its first win in the Central Carolina Conference. The Panthers defeated Person 4-1 at Orange High Soccer Park on Monday night. Junior Cooper Zinn scored his third goal in three games. The game-winning goal came from senior co-Captain Jasper Tyll off an assist from Dylan Silverman. In the second half, Silverman added his own goal. Junior Jack Pendergrast added the first goal of his varsity career as the Panthers won its first conference game against Person in 21 years. Orange is now 4-7 overall, 1-3 in the CCC. It was the first of three games for the Panthers this week. Orange will travel to Pittsboro on Wednesday night to face Northwood. Then the Panthers will face former Big 8 Conference rival Southern Durham on Friday night. They return home to face Eastern Alamance next Monday.

Women’s tennis: Cedar Ridge 6, Western Alamance 3: Cedar Ridge sophomore Cameron Mayhew won her third straight match in singles play as the Red Wolves defeated Western Alamance at Cedar Ridge tennis courts on Monday afternoon.

Mayhew, who has competed at #1 singles in all of the Red Wolves’ dual matches so far this season, opened with a 6-2, 6-1 victory.

Cedar Ridge senior Hannah Shinnick won two matches against the Warriors. She opened with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Madison Randleman at #3 singles. At day turned into night, Shinnick teamed with classmate Olivia Kelly at #2 doubles to defeat Madison Randleman & Sophie Touchette 8-5. That win sewed up the match for the Red Wolves, who improved to 3-3 overall, 2-2 in the Central Carolina Conference.

Kelly wonder #5 singles match over Sarah McLaughlin 6-3, 7-5. At #6 singles, Cedar Ridge freshman Adeline Cummings defeated Touchette 6-2, 6-0.

At #3 doubles, Red Wolves freshman Ella Caltabiano teamed with Cummings to win 8-3.

Cedar Ridge will travel to Burlington to face Williams on Wednesday afternoon.

Orange 8, Riverside 1: Orange swept all six singles matches to defeat Riverside at Orange Tennis Courts on Wednesday afternoon. Grace Pell captured her match in three sets. Riverside’s only victory came at #3 doubles. Orange improved to 8-2.

Northwood 6, Orange 3: The Chargers ended Orange’s four-match winning streak on Monday in Pittsboro. Erin Sollars won at #5 singles. Shannon Sollars won in a third-set tiebreak at #6 singles. Once again, Pell was extended to three sets but fell just short. 10-8. The Lady Panthers are 3-1 in the CCC.

Men’s soccer: Williams 6, Orange 1:

Wiliams, who captured the 2019 3A State Championship, defeated Orange 6-1 at Orange Soccer Park on Monday night. The Panthers’ only tally came from junior Cooper Zinn on an assist from Dylan Silverman. It was Zinn’s first goal of the year. Kenan King had four goals for the Bulldogs, who improved to 4-2-2 overall, 2-0 in the CCC.

Orange falls to 3-6, 0-2 in the CCC. The Panthers will play in the opening leg of the Hillsborough Derby on Wednesday night against Cedar Ridge at Red Wolves Stadium. Cedar Ridge has won the last three matches against Orange and four of the last five. Kickoff will be at 6:30 at Cedar Ridge.

Northwood 2, Cedar Ridge 1: The Red Wolves were tied with the Chargers at the half in their conference game at Chargers Stadium on Monday night. Northwood got the game-winning goal in the second half. The Red Wolves are 1-7 overall, 0-1 in the CCC

Women’s Golf: The second Central Carolina Conference meet of the year was held on Monday at the Preserves at Jordan Lake in Chapel Hill. In a field of 24 participants, Orange’s Sarah Durham finished tied for 2nd overall with a 47. Durham tied with Northwood’s Lily Jordan for second place.

Eastern Alamance’s Emily Mathews won the meet with a 35 through nine holes. Western Alamance won the team competition with 149 strokes, seven strokes ahead of Northwood, who finished at 155. Eastern Alamance finished third at 159. Orange was fourth with 168, while Person finished at 185.

Orange’s Samantha Durham, Sarah’s sister, finished tied for seventh with a 51.

Cedar Ridge’s Olivia Aitkin, who is the Red Wolves only golf participant, also finished in the top ten. Aitkin tied with Eastern Alamance’s Sarah Vannavong by shooting a 57.

Orange’s Lucia Godinez, Kayla Pope, Shannon Dorsi also participated in the meet.

Just last week, Riverside defeated the Orange men’s soccer team 3-0 at Linny Wrenn Stadium in Durham. On Thursday night, Orange turned the tables by beating the Pirates 3-0 at Orange Soccer Park. Senior co-Captain Jasper Tyll scored a goal and an assist for the Panthers. Junior Bryan Membreno added an insurance goal. Sophomore Enzo Bruhns, who was called up from the junior varsity squad this week by head coach Palmer Bowman, scored the first varsity goal of the season. Goalkeeper Connor McMurtry earned the clean sheet. It was the first home win of the year for Orange after victories over Henderson Collegiate at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, along with a 4-1 win at Graham last week. Orange is now 3-5. They will go for its first win in the Central Carolina Conference next week when they face Williams at home on Monday. Then Orange will travel to Cedar Ridge for the opening leg of the Hillsborough Derby next Wednesday.

Men’s Soccer: Orange 4, Graham 1: It appeared the Orange men’s soccer team would come up short in its search for its first road win of the season.

Trailing 1-0 with 15:00 against Graham, the Panthers unleashed four goals in the final 14 minutes to beat the Red Devils 4-1 on Monday night. In the final minute, Orange wingback Jasper Fast attempted a free kick from 24 yards. The ball was stopped on the goal line, but junior Darius Corbett chipped it in for the final goal.

Nicholas Hengsterman earned the win in net for Orange, who will face Riverside at Durham’s Linny Wrenn Stadium on Wednesday.

Orange 9, Henderson Collegiate 0: Orange claimed its first win of the season with a 9-0 win over Henderson Collegiate at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Saturday. The game kicked off a 3PM in the midst of 95-degree heat, but the Panthers didn’t let that deter them.

Tyler Mann and Carter Thompson each scored three goals for Orange. Darius Corbett added two goals, while Traver Bruhns added another marker. Thompson, Corbett and Bryan Membreno all had assists. Nicholas Hengsterman earned the clean sheet for the win.

Women’s Tennis:

Cedar Ridge 7, Person 2

The Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team had the distinction of being the first team to play a match in the new Central Carolina Conference on Monday afternoon. The Red Wolves defeated Person 7-2 at Red Wolves Tennis Courts.

Sophomore Cameron Mayhew won at #1 singles 8-0. At #2 singles, Chloe Patz defeated Alora Horton 8-1. Hannah Shinnick won at #3 singles 8-0. Freshman Ella Caltabiano, Senior Captain Olivia Kelly and freshman Adeline Cummings all won their respective singles matches 8-0.

In doubles, Cedar Ridge’s Reagan Simmons and Catherine Ballenger won 8-4. The Red Wolves are 2-0 overall and will travel to Northwood on Wednesday.

Orange 5, Western Alamance 3

The Orange women’s tennis team had a long night in its Central Carolina Conference opener. A match that started in the heat of the day wasn’t decided until nightfall had descended in Elon, but the Lady Panthers won 5-3.

Both the #3 and the #4 singles matches wound up in a third set tiebreaker. Tea Jones won her match at #3 singles, while senior Jinkie Andrews won at #4 singles to put Orange ahead 4-2 in the doubles round. Jones and senior Jera Hargrove won at #2 doubles to clinch the match for Orange. The #3 doubles match was canceled because of lightning.

Orange is 5-1, 1-0 and will host Walter Williams in Hillsborough on Wednesday.

Cedar Ridge 5, Voyager Academy 4

The Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team opened its season last Tuesday with a 5-4 win over Voyager Academy. It was a dual match that came down to #3 doubles.

With the dual match even 4-4, the #3 doubles team of freshman Ella Caltabiano and Reagan Simmons won 8-3 to preserve a win in the season opener. Earlier in the day, Caltabiano won her first match at the varsity level at #4 singles, beating Voyager’s Karli McKenna 8-5.

Senior Chloe Patz captured her #2 singles match 8-3. At #3 singles, Hannah Shinnick won 8-4. Senior Olivia Kelly won 8-6 over Shea Dixon at #5 singles.

Carrboro 7, Orange 2: Orange 5, Carrboro 2

Last Thursday, Orange completed its season-opening match against Carrboro, which was postponed from August 16 because of rain. The Lady Panthers won 5-2. Sophomore Grace Pell captured her match at #2 singles after her opponent retired. In the marathon match of the day, senior Jinkie Andrews defeated Carrboro’s Julianna Curry 11-10, winning a tiebreaker 7-5. Senior Tea Jones, sophomore Erin Sollars and freshman Shannon Sollars all won their singles matches.

The Jaguars won the regularly scheduled match. Jones defeated Carrboro’s Julianna Curry 8-3 at #4 singles. Shannon Sollars captured the match at #6 singles 8-1.

With 15 minutes remaining, the Graham men’s soccer team led Orange 1-0 on Monday night. The Panthers went off in the final 14 minutes, scoring four goals to win 4-1 and improve to 2-3 on the season. Wingback Jasper Tyll started a big sequence with the game tied 1-1 as he stopped the Red Devils’ leading scorer on one of the few breakouts that Graham could muster in the second half. Tyll played with a cast on his left hand after getting injured in the season opener against Chapel Hill. On Saturday, Orange labored through 95-degree heat to defeat Henderson Collegiate 9-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. The Panthers, coached by Palmer Bowman, have won consecutive games. They look to continue the winning streak when they face Riverside on Wednesday night at Linny Wrenn Stadium in Durham. Orange will travel to Western Alamance on Wednesday night for its Central Carolina Conference opener.

For this week’s retro Orange Panther of the Week, we journey back to the week starting January 10 and Orange senior basketball forward Jason Franklin. On January 11, Franklin led Orange with 20 points and ten rebounds at Cedar Ridge. Two nights later, Franklin led the Panthers once again with 20 points as Orange played Northwood tight in Pittsboro. The Chargers, who would go on to play in the 3A State Championship game, escaped with a 60-54 win. Franklin was one of Orange’s most dependable scorers over the past four years. This season, he averaged 16.6 points per game. He had a season high 24 points in a February 4 game against Southern Durham. Two days later, Franklin scored 23 points in Orange’s first win of the season, a 65-62 victory at Vance County. Franklin also scored four goals in his junior season for the Orange soccer team. After he graduates from Orange next month, Franklin will attend N.C. State with a focus on computer science. For Orange basketball fans, not seeing #4 on the floor will take some getting used to. After four years as a varsity player, Jason has made his mark in Orange basketball.

Kayla Hodges: Elon Phoenix junior Kayla Hodges was named Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Week. Last week, Elon defeated James Madison in overtime 1-0. The Dukes fired 12 shots against Elon, but Hodges and the rest of the backline prevented any of the shots from getting on net. Hodges also had a shot on net in Sunday’s victory at Rudd Field. Elon is 2-1, 1-1 in the CAA. They host South Carolina on Thursday.

Brittany Daley: Division III Greensboro College played to a scoreless tie with Pfeiffer on Saturday at Pride Field in Greensboro. Daley made her 39th career start for the Pride, who are now 3-1-1 in the USA South Athletic Conference.

Bailey Lucas: Lucas posted a double-double in Division III Meredith’s nightcap victory over North Carolina Wesleyan at Weatherspoon Gym in Raleigh on Saturday. Lucas had 24 assists and eleven kills as the Avenging Angels won the second match of a doubleheader 3-0 on scores of 25-14, 25-14 and 25-20. Meredith also captured the opener 3-0 on scores of 25-19, 25-16 and 25-9. In that match, Lucas started once again and registered nine assists and two digs. Meredith improved to 4-3, 3-2 in the USA South. This season, Lucas has started all seven matches for the Avenging Angels. She leads the team with 161 assists and is third on the squad with 51 digs. Meredith travels to Greensboro on Saturday.

Joey Berini: The #8 East Carolina baseball team lost to #24 North Carolina 8-1 on Tuesday night at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill. Berini entered the game in the sixth inning and remained as the shortstop. In his only at-bat, Berini grounded out to second base. The Pirates are now 16-4.

Cooper Porter: Pensacola State defeated Chipola College 8-4 last Thursday. Porter finished 1-for-4 with a run scored. Through nine games with the Pirates, Porter is hitting .167 with one RBI and three stolen bases.

Jaylin Jones: The Division III Pfeiffer University men’s lacrosse team defeated Methodist 18-8 at Lefko Field in Misenheimer on Sunday. It was the Falcons’ fourth straight victory. Jones was credited with a ground ball as Pfeiffer improved to 5-1, 3-0 in the USA South Conference.

Olivia Ward: Ward captured a victory at #3 doubles for the Division III Methodist women’s tennis team on Saturday. Ward, a former All-Big 8 Conference player at Cedar Ridge, teamed with Natalie Collins to defeat Emily Wrenn and Ruth Lechner 8-0 of Sweet Briar in #3 doubles. Sweet Briar wound up winning the match 5-4. It was Ward’s first victory in the college ranks. Earlier in the day, Ward lost in #3 singles to Kate Katany 6-4, 6-3. Methodist is 4-9 overall, 1-0 in the USA South Conference.

Connor Crabtree: Though he hasn’t played since early December, Connor Crabtree will be watching when the University of Richmond competes in the National Invitational Tournament quarterfinals. The Spiders will face Mississippi State on Thursday night. Unfortunately, Crabtree was sidelined for the season with a broken foot before Christmas. In his first season with the Spiders, Crabtree played in four games. On December 22, he scored eight points as the Spiders lost to Hofstra 76-71. Crabtree played a season-high 21 minutes. He also played seven minutes against Loyola-Chicago, whom the Spiders defeated 75-73 on December 18. The Ramblers will face Oregon State on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.