North Carolina sweeps South Carolina in high school soccer to claim Clash of the Carolinas
RALEIGH, NC – The Tar Heels continued their mastery of its southern neighbors as North Carolina swept the Sandlappers 3-1 and 4-3 in the girls and boys matches, respectively, at Cardinal Gibbons High School in the 10th annual Clash of the Carolinas. This was the first time that North Carolina hosted the event which has been held at Daniel Island since 2007. NC now leads the girls series 7-1-2 and 6-1-3 in the boys ledger.
In the girls match, North Carolina opened the scoring in the seventh minute when Christina Shimshock of A.C. Reynolds took a shot from 15 yards away that deflected past S.C. goalkeeper Lauren Karinshak of Wando HS who collected eight saves on 17 Tar Heel shots in the contest. Fuquay-Varina’s Megan Greene notched a goal in the 50th minute and then Abby Givens, the N.C. Most Valuable Player, tallied the third score on an assist from Baley Edwards of E.A. Laney in the 67th minute. South Carolina avoided the shutout when Fort Dorchester’s Caitlyn Reilly, who also earned MVP honors for the Sandlappers, registered a goal one minute from time. SC’s lone victory came in 2008.
The boys game began just like the 2015 outing when North Carolina rolled to the series’ largest margin of victory, 7-0, as the Tar Heels scored on their first three shots. Marco Garcia-Rodriguez of South Mecklenburg HS scored on a beautiful free kick from 24 yards away after the Tar Heels were fouled in the fifth minute. Carter Phillips of Dixon HS extended the lead to 2-0 in the 11th minute and Statesville’s Jason Rosales pushed the score line to 3-0 one minute later. Though down and shell-shocked, the Sandlappers battled back as Connor Deany of River Bluff slotted home a nice setup by Nation Ford’s Kevin Garces on 17 minutes. Just moments later Jeremy Cheeks of Airport HS saw home a double-assist by Deany and Dreher’s Cole Gaston on an indirect kick that turned the momentum for the Sandlappers. However, a controversial goal by Phillips on the stroke of halftime proved to be the difference in the final outcome. As a shot by Garces inside the Tar Heels’ box apparently hit a North Carolina defender’s hand and shout of “hand ball” echoed around CGHS Stadium, the referee allowed play to continue and the counter-attack resulted in a deflected shot that hit the post and toed the line as a SC player tried to clear it but the stadium-side assistant referee raised his flag and signaled for the goal. Despite the commotion and confusion the goal stood and NC led 4-2 at intermission. SC pulled within one goal in the 55th minute when Ben Freiburger of River Bluff knocked in a loose ball that setup for a full-tilt final 20 minutes. The Tar Heels withstood the Sandlappers’ rally and North Carolina reeled off its sixth consecutive victory. NC goalkeeper Erick Cortez-Martinez of North Forsyth and Garces earned MVP honors.
BOX SCORES
Girls: NC 3-1 SC. Halftime: NC 1-0 SC. Goals: (NC) Christina Shimshock 7, (NC) Megan Greene 50, (NC) Abby Givens 67, (SC) Caitlyn Reilly 79. Assists: (NC) Baley Edwards. Shots: NC 17-5 SC. Saves: NC 3-8 SC. Corner Kicks: NC 5-0 SC. Offsides: NC 2-1 SC. Fouls: NC 3-4 SC. Officials: Matt Katsuleris, John Mosser, Kayla Polonsky. Uniforms: (NC) Sky-Navy-Sky; (SC) White-Red-White. Records: NC 7-2-1; SC 1-7-2.
Boys: NC 4-3 SC. Halftime: NC 3-2 SC. Goals: (NC) Marco Garcia-Rodriguez 5, (NC) Carter Phillips 11, (NC) Jason Rosales 12, (SC) Connor Deany 17, (SC) Jeremy Cheeks 21, (NC) Phillips 40, (SC) Ben Freiburger 55. Assists: (SC) Deany, Kevin Garces, Cole Gaston. Saves: (NC) Erick Cortez-Martinez 6; (SC) Liam Murphy 4. Corner Kicks: NC 4-6 SC. Offsides: NC 0-2 SC. Fouls: NC 12 8 SC. Officials: Collin Dalton, Kyle Lavender, Jeremy Smith. Uniforms: (NC) Sky-Navy-Sky; (SC) White-Red-White. Records: NC 6-1-3; SC 1-6-3.
