Chapel Hill boys soccer stays atop Big 8 with win over Cedar Ridge
Oliver Reuland dramatically saved a Chapel Hill boys soccer victory acting on the rarest words heard from a coach.
“Be selfish!” called out assistant coach Davis Boyle.
Instead of passing the ball, Reuland scored from 20 yards for the game-winning goal with 4:36 to play to lift The News & Observer’s No. 2-ranked Tigers to a 3-2 victory over Cedar Ridge Wednesday night in a crucial Big 8 Conference game.
What happened is Reuland, a junior, suddenly had the ball in front of him on the left side of the field as the result of a poor clear.
“I was looking down the line to pass it off,” Reuland said. “But when (Doyle) said to be selfish, I took a shot.”
It wasn’t just any desperation shot. It was a well-placed ball into the upper right corner of the net that a college goalie would have been hard-pressed to save.
“It felt good,” Reuland said. “I thought it would be good.”
With the victory, Chapel Hill (11-1-2, 8-0) remained unbeaten in conference play. Cedar Ridge (9-5-1, 7-2) had a chance to force a tie for the league lead.
The Red Wolves took a 1-0 lead 15 minutes into the match on a goal by Trenton Gill and 2-1 lead 21 minutes into the first half on Ivan Carbajal’s score.
Turning point
Chapel Hill senior Blake Johnson tied the game 2-all with 13:33 to play when he recovered a ball knocked down by a teammate and scored from 20 yards from the left side. Until then, Cedar Ridge’s Noah Leesnitzer, Noah Kankanala, Jake Brown and Lachlan McGrath were so effective clearing the balls it appeared the Red Wolves’ 2-1 lead would stand up.
Cedar Ridge protested Johnson scored off a handball, but the officials allowed the goal.
They said it
“We were more focused and played a lot better this time. We had to two bad lapses in the second half and they capitalized. But my boys played hard, and I was proud of them. I think we outplayed them possession-wise, but if you make a mistake against a good team like Chapel Hill, they will capitalize on it,” Cedar Ridge coach Chris Walker said.
Three who made a difference
Chapel Hill junior Sam Linker tied the match 1-1 with on a free kick that hooked into the left side of the net.
Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Brendon Boss provided the Red Wolves with an emotional boost when he survived an early onslaught with three saves in the game’s first five minutes before Cedar Ridge got off a shot. Two saves stopped well-executed headers off a corner and on the third he fell to the turf in a crowd to smother the ball.
Cedar Ridge’s Lachlan McGrath contributed the game’s only assist on Trenton’ Gill’s goal in addition to his strong defensive play.
Needs work
Reuland said the Tigers were overconfident entering the game based on the shutout and learned a valuable lesson before the playoffs come around.
“(Cedar Ridge) showed heart and was more physical than us,” he said.
This story was originally published October 14, 2015 at 11:40 PM with the headline "Chapel Hill boys soccer stays atop Big 8 with win over Cedar Ridge."