Carrboro’s excellent run in girls soccer against 4A rival East Chapel Hill continued last week as the Jaguars downed the Wildcats 1-0 Thursday.
After multiple chances for Carrboro either went begging or were stymied by East Chapel Hill’s formidable defense, ninth-grader Miah Araba left-footed in a goal off an assist from Caroline Houser in the 73rd minute of the non-conference match.
“We were able to hold on after that for the last 7:30 of play,” Carrboro Coach Jared Drexler said.
“It was a very, very good win. Both our teams are really very good, and East is especially strong defensively,” he said.
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Araba’s goal was the first given up by East Chapel Hill (7-2-0) after three straight shutouts. The Wildcats had outscored their previous three opponents 16-0.
Offensive midfielder Caroline Houser and forward Breighton Magee have led the Carrboro scoring this season, “but everyone has chipped in,” Drexler said.
Ranked No. 3 in the state’s 2A classification, Carrboro (9-3-0) has been strong on defense as well. Wednesday’s result was the eighth shutout so far this season for the Jaguars, who’ve outscored 12 opponents 69-10. Four of those goals were scored by No. 2-ranked First Flight in a 4-3 win earlier this season at Carrboro.
Like the First Flight team, which Carrboro eliminated in the third round of the 2013 state playoffs, the Jaguars were looking for a bit of revenge when they hosted East. The Wildcats had beaten Carrboro 2-0 on March 22, the first time East defeated Carrboro since 2010.
“We were a little discouraged after that loss,” Drexler said. “I guess we were looking for a little bit of revenge against our crosstown rivals.”
Including this year’s results, Carrboro has gone 3-1-3 against East since 2011.
No one can remember the last time Carrboro has lost to a current member of its Mid-State 2A Conference. The Jaguars are 5-0-0 in conference play this spring.
That hasn’t always been a good thing. Carrboro has played in seven games shortened by the state’s “mercy rule,” which ends play when one team gets nine goals ahead. Three of those Carrboro wins never got to a second half.
Between the truncated games and persistent rains this spring, the Jaguars haven’t had as much work on the field as they would like.
“We haven’t had many 80-minute games,” Drexler said. “That’s one of the reason we were looking forward to this game. We knew it was going to be a real test for us – a good opponent and a good game.”
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