CARY-An unexpected late-season run came to an end for the New Hanover soccer club Tuesday in a 2-1 loss to defending 4A state champion Green Hope.
New Hanover had a golden opportunity early in the match, but the Falcons’ keeper made a big stop to keep the match even. The game remained scoreless until the 29th minute, when Green Hope beat keeper Andrew Arant for the 1-0 lead.
Both clubs traded possession back and forth, and missed several opportunities during the first 40 minutes. New Hanover pressured the Falcons’ back line late in the first half.
“We gave up an ugly goal midway through the first half after missing a great scoring chance in the first few minutes of play,” New Hanover Coach T.J. Rennie said.
New Hanover continued its offensive assault just after the break, but Green Hope notched the eventual winning goal in the 60th minute.
Down 2-0 midway through the second half, Ricardo Olivares gave the Wildcats a pulse when he found the back of the net in the 64th minute. Olivares connected off a free kick from Skylar Deyoung.
The Wildcats made one final effort with six minutes to play in a near miss off a beautiful ball that sailed over the Falcons’ defense.
“It was a great goal by Ricardo off the free kick, but just couldn’t take advantage of some key opportunities and couldn’t get it done. That’s soccer, though. We could have easily been bounced out earlier by a ball that doesn’t bounce our way. I don’t think [Green Hope] outplayed us on the field.
“We gave a great effort and just came up short. When you’re playing the state champions on their turf with a chance to get into the finals, you can only hope you put your best effort and leave it on the field. I think we did that today. I’m very proud of our guys for a memorable season,” Rennie said.
New Hanover finished with a 16-7-2 record as the team advanced to the regional round of the 4A state playoffs for the third time in school history.
Green Hope improved to 23-2, and will play Myers Park out of the west region Saturday in the 4A state title game at Dail Soccer Field on the campus of N.C. State. It will be the second straight year Green Hope and Myers Park compete for the state championship.
