North Carolina girls blank South Carolina, Tar Heels and Sandlappers battle to draw in boys’ contest

July 8, 2017


CARY, N.C. – The 11th annual Clash of the Carolinas took place on Saturday at a sun-splashed Koka Booth Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. In the girls’ contest, the Tar Heels parlayed a 3-0 halftime advantage into a 4-0 full-time score line, while the boys’ match saw honors even after a see-saw affair that ended in a 2-2 result.


This marked the second consecutive summer that the nation’s only interstate all-star prep soccer event was staged in the Triangle as Cardinal Gibbons High School hosted the 2016 games. The first nine “Clashes” were held at Daniel Island, S.C.


The girls’ series is now led 8-1-2 by the Tar Heels and North Carolina is unbeaten in the past nine meetings. South Carolina stopped the Tar Heels’ six-match win streak in the boys’ series as the Sandlappers actually held a 1-0-3 mark through the first four games (2007-10), but North Carolina had reeled off victories in each match from 2011-16. The Tar Heels lead the series 6-1-4.


After an even opening 20 minutes in the girls’ match, North Carolina took over the first half of play in the 23rd minute when Jacksonville’s Madison Hoopes slotted home a pass from Newport’s Victoria Riggs. 10 minutes later Hayley Garrett of Cardinal Gibbons pushed the lead to 2-0 and moments later it was 3-0 on a score by Garrett on a double-assist from Green Hope’s Bailey Peterson and Riggs. Late in the second half Hoggard’s Siara Southerland tallied the final goal to round out the host state’s largest margin of victory in the series. Brianna Morris, a player with a never ending motor in the middle of the pitch for the Tar Heels, earned Most Valuable Player honors for the winning side while Morrison Trnavsky of Dorman was named MVP for the South Carolina squad.


The boys’ match was a back-and-forth battle that remained scoreless until South Carolina’s Mitchell Myers of South Aiken opened the scoring in the 36th minute when he made a nice move in the box and fired home a pass from J.L. Mann’s Quinn McNeill to give the Sandlappers a 1-0 lead at intermission. Five minutes into the second stanza, Wallace-Rose Hill’s Maynor Espinoza rolled a SC defender and knocked in a well setup play by Asheville’s Aiden O’Brien. Then, in the 64th minute North Carolina took the lead at 2-1 when Reed Hunnicutt of South Mecklenburg completed a full-field transition from a South Carolina corner kick that saw Chapel Hill’s Sam Linker credited with the assist. Moments later South Carolina leveled the game at 2-2 when McNeill converted a penalty kick after a Tar Heel was called for handling in the penalty area. The Sandlappers thought they had scored the match winner with less than 10 seconds remaining in the contest but a throw-in by River Bluff’s Connor Slattery sailed over the Tar Heel goalkeeper and was tapped in by S.C., only for a foul to be whistled on the play that disallowed the goal. Michael Smith of Nation Ford was named MVP for the Sandlappers and O’Brien earned the same honors for North Carolina.

GIRLS BOX SCORE
North Carolina 4-0 South Carolina
Goals: (NC) Madison Hoopes 23, Haley Garett 32, Garrett 35, Siara Southerland 88.
Assists: (NC) Victoria Riggs 2, Bailey Peterson.
Shots: NC 21-8 SC.
Saves: (NC) Abby Stapleton 3, Madison McNally 1; (SC) Ashlyn Harris 11.
Corner Kicks: NC 7-2 SC.
Offsides: NC 3-1 SC.
Fouls: NC 8-15 SC.
Cautions: none.
Ejections: none.
Weather: 81 Degrees, Clear, 74% Humidity
Records: NC (8-1-2); SC (1-8-2).

BOYS BOX SCORE
North Carolina 2-2 South Carolina
Goals: (SC) Mitchell Myers 36; (NC) Maynor Espinoza 51; (NC) Reed Hunnicutt 65; (SC) Quinn McNeill 68.
Assists: (NC) Aiden O’ Brien, Sam Linker; (SC) McNeill.
Shots: NC 13-19 SC.
Saves: (NC) Gray Sutter 3, Colin Bronack 5; (SC) Shane Berson 5.
Corner Kicks: NC 4-6 SC.
Offsides: NC 2-0 SC.
Fouls: NC 8-15 SC.
Cautions: (SC) Myers 52, Drake Byrd 56, Zach Aversano 62.
Ejections: none.
Weather: 92 Degrees, Clear, 48% Humidity.
Records: NC (6-1-4); SC (1-6-4).