Women's Soccer End of season banquet!

The Women's Soccer Program will have it's end-of-season banquet and awards ceremony on Sunday, June 3rd from 3-6pm.  The event will be held at Gold Park (for 3-4:30 for a fun scrimmage) and then at The Depot (4:30-6pm for food and awards).

The event will be a potluck.  Please fill out the following document below or return the orange slip with your soccer player so that we can get a head count.  Click here for the potluck spreadsheet!


If you need a form with directions, a map, or more details, please pick one up in Room 407.  Hope to see you there!

Senior Night video by News of Orange County!

Erin Wiltgen, News of Orange reporter, pieced together a video of the Orange High Soccer team's Senior Night with live game shots and interviews of Coach Hunter, Katie Bumgarner, and Mia Phillips!  It looks great--be sure to check it out.  Thanks so much, Erin!

Playoff game moved to Thursday, 5/10 at Northern Guilford

 Please come out and support the Panthers as they play Northern Guilford tomorrow night (Thursday) at 7pm!  The soccer field is on Simpson-Calhoun road.  Directions to the field are listed below.  Game time is at 7pm.  Come on out and support your team!

1.	Head west on Holman Dr toward N Carolina 86 S	0.1 mi
2.	Turn left onto N Carolina 86 S	0.2 mi
3.	Turn right onto US-70 W/Cornelius St Continue to follow US-70 W	2.6 mi
4.	Take the I-85 exit on the left toward I-40/N Carolina 86 S/Greensboro	0.3 mi
5.	Merge onto Interstate 85 Connector S/U.S. 70 Connector S	0.6 mi
6.	Take the ramp onto I-40 W/I-85 S	29.3 mi
7.	Slight right onto I-40 W/I-85 BUS S (signs for Interstate 85 BUSINESS S/U.S 70/Greensboro/Winston-Salem)	0.4 mi
8.	Take exit 227 toward US-70/US-29 N/US-220 N	0.6 mi
9.	Merge onto I-840 W	1.6 mi
10.	Take exit 19 to merge onto US-70 W/Burlington Rd toward Greensboro Continue to follow US-70 W	4.5 mi
11.	Continue onto Wendover Ave E	1.0 mi
12.	Turn right onto N Church St	7.0 mi
13.	Turn left onto Spencer-Dixon Rd	1.7 mi
14.	Turn left onto Simpson-Calhoun Rd	0.3 mi

Panthers close out regular season against Webb with 2-1 victory on Senior Night

Seniors from left: Phillips, Mangal, Smith, Hilliard & Bumgarner

By: Mia Phillips & Brittany Smith

On Thursday, May 3rd, the Panthers held back tears as they acknowledged five of their senior Lady Panthers who will soon be graduating. Only a win could send the ladies off into the playoffs with an eager mentality to do well.  The night started off with an emotional discussion of each individual senior, pointing out their many talents on and off the field and mentioning their future plans.

Senior captain Katie Bumgarner, #10

After the speech made for each senior, the seniors rejoined their team with their minds focused on the game. Clad in bandanas, all five seniors led as captains in the night's game and started on the field with Brittany Smith and Mia Phillips as strikers,  Tatiana Mangal and Brooke Hilliard as outside defenders, and Katie Bumgarner as a central midfielder. It was evident that all of the Lady Panthers were eager to bring home the win as they came out playing strong in the first ten minutes, continually champing at the bit by taking shots on frame. The first goal came about fifteen minutes into the first half as the Lady Panthers received a free kick near the other team's goal. Natalie Hartmond, a junior, stepped up and took a beautiful kick. After trapping the ball, Katie swiftly passed it off to Devon Allen, also a junior, who drilled the ball into the back of the net, landing the Panther's first goal. Celebration stuck across the field for the Panthers, but they quickly regained their composure, ready to defend their own goal.

Brooke Hilliard makes a pass out of the back

The team continued their two-touch style of soccer with speedy passes down the sides. The defense continually ran players down who had the slightest breakaway.  Madison Chandler, Orange's valiant goalie, made several strong saves by diving across the goal to capture shots. Towards the end, Mia Phillips received the ball mid-field and dribbled to goal, pulling several moves to fake out her opponents. As she approached the front of the goal, she placed the ball directly into the corner of the goal with a firm and powerful shot. Sliding out of the goalie's reach, the Panther's earned their second goal.

Hunter and Bowman

Thank you, Seniors!

At half time, the girls acknowledged that with a score of 2-0, this could very well still be anyone's game. The team devised a strategy to keep their defense strong by keeping everyone checking back to mark up the opposing team on kicks and throw-ins and communicating marks.  The team had multiple chances, with Katie Bumgarner hitting the crossbar and a few other shots going just wide of the frame.  With three minutes to play, the Seniors got subbed out, where they received a standing ovation and joined their team on the bench.  Unfortunately, with thirty seconds left, a Webb striker slipped through the midfield and notched Webb's only goal of the night.

The win secured a third-place seed for the Panthers in the 3A State playoffs next week.  The team will play Northern Guilford high school away on Wednesday, May 9th.  Game time is at 7pm.  We hope you'll join us to support the Panthers as they give it all they've got in the playoffs!

Team loses two in tough battles against first- and second-place conference opponents

Megan Joyner on a breakaway, controlling the dribble

As many of you have probably noticed, there's nothing this team prefers more than a good challenge.  And challenge was the theme of the beginning of last week, as the Panthers faced top-seeded conference opponents Chapel Hill and Cardinal Gibbons at home on Monday and Wednesday.

Senior Katie Bumgarner defends a Crusader

Playing Gibbons first on Monday, the team had the goal of holding the Crusaders to a smaller goal differential.  Winning balls out of the air was integral to this goal, and the team set to it right away.  High-pressure defense on their midfielders and forwards, but not their defenders, was a new style of play for the Panthers.  Allowing the Gibbons defenders to make decisions instead of pressuring them immediately bought the Panthers some time to redistribute their marks and make sure that each of them were covered.  Although unconventional, the plan seemed to work: the Panthers held the Crusaders to only 1 goal until the last 5 minutes of the first half.

Lexi Moyer, Player of the Game against Cardinal Gibbons

The teams went to halftime with Gibbons up 2-0.  With multiple new fans in the stands, including teachers and students, the Panthers fought hard on their home turf, closing out the game by never quitting, but with a final score of 6-0.  The Player of the Game goldfish bag was awarded to freshman Lexi Moyer (#1), a recent addition to the team from JV.  Moyer (shown left) hustled non-stop, pressured hard, and ran every ball down that she could.  At halftime, the team refined their gameplan and asked Moyer to play slightly differently than she'd ever been asked to before.  She quickly adapted to a different style of play and responded with ease.  Despite her small size, she battled for every ball that came near her.  Great game, Lexi.

The team had one practice Tuesday before facing Conference leader Chapel Hill, who had already tied and defeated Gibbons earlier in the season.  With the Chapel Hill Tigers known for being a striking force, the team starting in their holding formation of 4-5-1.  Despite another tough competition and only allowing two goals in the second half, the Panthers fell to the first-seed Tigers 6-0.  The Player of the Game was Grace Lamay (pictured right), who showed exceptional improvements in her game: making good turns with the ball at her feet, playing solid defense, and having much more crisp first touches.  The coaches are excited to see Grace more at outside midfield.  Good game, Grace! 

Tallie Phillips wins a ball from a Chapel Hill player

The team takes on J.F. Webb Thursday for their last regular-season Conference match.  Having faced two hard challenges early in the week, they are ready for one they can tackle.  It will be Senior Night, and the speeches will commence at 5:45pm.  Game time is 6pm.  Please come out and support your Panthers, especially your senior Panthers!

Team collects 9 goals and a shutout in game against Southern Vance

Grace Lamay chases down a Southern Vance player

The team traveled to Southern Vance for their second meeting on Wednesday, April 25th.  The team took the field in their secondary formation, running with two forwards and four midfielders.  Devon Allen quickly finished the first goal, dribbling up through a few defenders before scoring in the left corner of the net.

Her goal was followed by one from Hannah Mignosa, who sprinted up the left sideline and sent a left-footed shot across the baseline.  Seemingly at an impossible angle, the goal squeaked in the far-side of the net.  Goals from three seniors followed: first from Tatiana Mangal, then one from Brittany Smith, and finally two from captain Brooke Hilliard, one off of a cross from freshman Megan Joyner.

Brooke Hilliard and Tatiana Mangal switch as keepers

The team went into the second half looking much more organized, playing with passes to feet and focusing on playing the way they faced as well as swinging the ball through the back.  The time in goal was split between Hilliard and Mangal, shown right, and Madison Chandler happily put away her second goal of the season while playing on the field.

Hannah Mignosa, Player of the Game

Sophomore Ashley Blakemore, out for part of the season with injury and illness, finally notched her first goal of the season, and excitedly so.  The coaches hope that Blakemore's scoring-floodgates have opened. 

The Player of the Game was sophomore Hannah Mignosa, who played at the outside midfield position for the majority of the game.  Aside from a fantastic goal, she hustled hard and created multiple scoring opportunities with crosses for the Panthers.  Great game, Hannah!

Hannah Mignosa makes a left-footed cross

The team heads into their last week of regular-season play next week, with 3 conference games to close out the season.  All of the games are at home--please come out & support your Panthers!

*A huge thanks to Julie Joyner for the photos!  Thank you!

Missing players doesn't stop Panthers from well-played soccer, but they still fall 4-1 to Northern Durham

Center defender Natalie Hartmond clears a ball away from a Knight

The team faced Northern Durham last Friday, April 20th, at the Knights stadium.  Without Mia or Tallie Phillips, Ashley Blakemore, MJ Bumgarner, Brittany Smith, and Summer Anderson, one would think that the team fell apart.  Quite the contrary.  The rest of the team picked up the responsibility, with many of the players never coming off of the field for a substitution, and held off Northern Durham for the majority of the first half.

Viviane Feldman plays tight pressure defense on #15

The Panthers defense was solid--with Natalie Hartmond (shown above right) and Viviane Feldman (shown left) winning many balls centrally out of the air, and Brooke Hilliard, Devon Allen, and Tatiana Mangal playing fast and decisive outside defense.  Goalkeeper Madison Chandler had 10 saves in the first half, helping to hold off the Knights for almost 30 minutes of the first half.  Executing on fast breaks, the Knights slipped in 2 goals before the second half.

The team agreed at halftime to continue playing fast-pace soccer: 1-and 2-touches, continuing the movement off the ball, and not pulling the ball back on a potential breakaway.  A few minutes into the second half, the Knights got their third goal, and both teams played the majority of the second half at a score of 3-0.   Devon Allen was pulled up to forward and Rachel Shinnick started to play more as an attacking center midfielder to help Allen on breakways.  The Panthers had multiple opportunities up top, set up by good passes out wide by freshmen Megan Joyner and Savannah Jackson, a few good corner kick chances by Viviane Feldman, and one near-goal off of a free kick taken by Natalie Hartmond.  Late in the second half, freshman Rachel Shinnick collected a ball off of a punt by the goalkeeper near the half-field line, set it up, and shot from way out.  The ball seemed to travel in slow motion as it dropped in behind the goalkeeper, making the score 3-1.

Grace Lamay controls the dribble

The Panthers fought hard for a second goal, but couldn't seem to close on any of their chances.  The team had a total of 16 shots against Northern Durham, and a shot on goal percentage of 44%.  The team is still striving to get their shots on goal more than 50% of the time, and hope to focus on that tonight against Conference opponent Southern Vance.

Devon Allen, Player of the Game, on a fast break from defender

It was difficult for the coaches to choose one Player of the Game as so many members of the team had breakout performances--notably Natalie Hartmond, Viviane Feldman, Brooke Hilliard, and Megan Joyner, but one player in particular epitomized the ideal of never giving up.  Providing constant hustle and effort, a winning attitude, and a level of fight that truly set her on her own level, junior Devon Allen took home the s'mores packet for earning Player of the Game.  Great game, Devon. 

The team travels to Southern Vance tonight for their final in-season away game.  They are on the hunt for a W.  Good luck, Panthers!

Rescheduled J.F. Webb game

Due to the cancellation of the J.F. Webb game, the home game has been rescheduled (Varsity only) for Friday, May 4th, at 5pm.  Warm-ups for the Varsity team will begin at 4pm.  We hope you can join us for our last conference home game of the season!