CARY, NC - The 15th annual Clash of the Carolinas was staged by the North Carolina Soccer Coaches Association and the South Carolina High School Soccer Coaches Association on Saturday, June 25 at WakeMed Soccer Park's Koka Booth Stadium.
The 2022 Clash saw the Tar Heels capture the girls match with a 2-0 victory while in the boys contest the two sides battled to a 2-2 draw. North Carolina now leads the girls’ series 12-1-2 and has tallied six consecutive wins since 2016. The Tar Heels lead the boys’ series 7-1-7 and four of the past five results have ended in draws.
The Clash is the only interstate prep soccer all-star game in the nation and was founded in 2007. The Summer event has been held every year since then except for 2020 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
In the girls’ game, the Tar Heels notched goals at the 42nd and 53rd minute marks on scores by Weddington's Maria Manousas and Lake Norman Charter's Reese Robinson, respectively. Halle Skibo of A.C. Reynolds was credited with an assist on Robinson's goal. NC held a 12-3 advantage in shots and a 5-1 margin in corner kicks. Sandlapper goalkeepers Katie Freiberger (River Bluff) and Grace Workman (J.L. Mann) combined for nine saves. NC netminders, Chloe Leffler (New Bern) and Alexis Wolgemuth (Fred T. Foard) recorded the shutout. Manousas was tabbed with Most Outstanding Player honors for NC while Karla Gordon of Gray Collegiate Academy earned MOP accolades for SC. Gordon played more than 80 minutes in three different positions and hit the crossbar on her only shot of the match.
The boys’ fixture was a seesaw affair as North Carolina grabbed a 1-0 advantage midway through the first stanza on a goal by David Franquiz from Hibriten only to see the Sandlappers equalize just before halftime on a score by Myrtle Beach’s Mathi Ott that was setup by Patrick Cayelli of T.L. Hanna. Then, in the second half, Jackson Price of A.C. Flora connected from the top of the box on an assist from Dorman’s Jordan Lester who drove to the end line and delivered a well-timed pass to Price to give South Carolina a 2-1 lead. Two minutes later it appeared that SC had pushed its advantage to 3-1 but a lengthy discussion between the Referee and Linesman resulted in a goal being disallowed due to offsides – the second SC goal called off by the Assistant Referees in each period. North Carolina would then knot the contest at 2-2 in the 79th minute when Abdul Qurneh of Leesville Road knocked in a rebound to round out the scoring. Matthew Allen from Mount Tabor (NC) and Ezra White of D.W. Daniel (SC) were selected as the Most Outstanding Players.
GIRLS: North Carolina 2-0 South Carolina
Goals: (NC) Maria Manousas 42, Reese Robinson 53.
Assists: (NC) Halle Skibo.
Shots: NC 12-3 SC.
Saves: (NC) 1 - Alexis Wolgemuth 0, Chloe Leffler 1. (SC) 9 - Grace Workman 5, Katie Freiberger 4.
Corner Kicks: NC 5-1 SC.
Offsides: NC 4-0 SC.
Fouls: NC 7-7 SC.
Cautions: none.
Ejections: none.
Records: NC (12-1-2); SC (1-12-2).
Boys: North Carolina 2-2 South Carolina
Goals: (NC) David Franquiz 28, Abdul Qurneh 79; (SC) Mathi Ott 43, Jackson Price 58.
Assists: (SC) Patrick Cayelli, Jordan Lester.
Shots: NC 18-18 SC.
Saves: (NC) 10 – Noah Kump 10. (SC) 11 – Jakob Whitfield 11.
Corner Kicks: NC 6-7 SC.
Offsides: NC 2-2 SC.
Fouls: NC 7-19 SC.
Cautions: (NC) 1 – Charlie Leston; (SC) 2 – Lucas Goldberg, Mathi Ott.
Ejections: none.
Records: NC (7-1-7); SC (1-7-7).
