CFNN Reporters Aiden Hale, Cameron Hall, and Brayden Luchetta

The Cape Fear Men’s Soccer teams began their conference play this week. On Monday, September 22nd the Colts took on Lumberton at home.

The JV Colts started off strong, scoring twice in the first half, heading into halftime up 2-1.

Lumberton came into the second half strong, scoring in the first minute of the second half to tie the game up 2-2. After tying the game, Lumberton was able to get three more goals past the Colts. The Colts put up a strong fight against the Pirates, but ultimately were unable to come out on top. The JV Colts ended the night with a 5-2 loss.

“I feel like if we had better communication during the game and were a bit more composed with our lead we could have won the game, but we will be prepared for next time we face them,” said JV captain Isaak Fick.

The Varsity Colts played following the end of the JV game; it was truly an enthralling match! This matchup has been historically important for both squads. These two teams met in the conference tournament final last season. Either Lumberton or Cape Fear (or both) have won the conference title AND tournament title for the past four seasons. The Colts pulled through last year with a 2-1 win and were looking to replicate that win for this game.

The Colts were off to a quick start on an early goal on a header from Senior RJ Doran off a solid cross by Cameron Trumbull. This put the Colts up 1-0.  Cape Fear had several more scoring opportunities, but was unable to capitalize. This left the score 1-0 at halftime.

Lumberton wasn’t going to go down without a fight and scored twice in the first 20 minutes of the second half to take the 2-1 lead. 

This would be a breaking point for some teams, but not for our Colts! They showed resilience with Senior Zack Beal scoring on a penalty kick (PK) to tie the game up and put the momentum in the Colts’ favor.

The team fought to the very last second, determined to put the winner in the back of the net. Junior Dylan Henderson was up to the task, when he scored the game winner with 3 minutes remaining! Henderson was able to corral a loose ball in the box and send it home. 

From there, the defense locked down the Pirates for the last few minutes to secure the win.

“It felt good, it was 2-2 and all tied up and I just jumped up and hit it with my back,” stated Henderson. “I missed three opportunities at the back post earlier in the game, so it felt amazing to redeem myself in that way!”

This game was a true example of the resilience and fighting spirit of our Varsity Colts soccer team! Catch the Colts next Monday as they take on the Bears of Grays Creek High School in another key conference match.