Catawba Ridge head coach Philip McCarter said his emotions were hard to put into words following Catawba Ridge’s dramatic 3-2 win over crosstown rival Fort Mill Tuesday night at The Pit.
The visiting Yellow Jackets had fought back from 2-0 down to equalize the match in the 73rd minute and potentially either send the game to overtime.
But sophomore midfielder Kevin Fernandez played the hero role when he guided home a one-touch shot from a corner kick in the 80th minute to hand Catawba Ridge a win and put the home crowd on its feet.
“It’s a feeling that’s hard to beat,” McCarter said. “It’s up there with a lot of milestones. We needed a win to give us some momentum going into region, but going against a team of (Fort Mill’s) quality, they showed why they’re one of the best teams in the state. These boys will go to war for each other. Their work rate is great.”
With the win, Catawba Ridge is now 6-2, while Fort Mill drops to 3-4-1.
Catawba Ridge threatened the Fort Mill penalty area plenty of times in the opening half. Senior forward Micah Collins pulled off crosses on back-to-back opportunities in the first several minutes, but neither of them beat Yellow Jackets’ goalkeeper Nicky Gritz.
Freshman Nico Diaz nearly converted for Fort Mill in the 10th minute when he latched onto an outlet ball at the top of the penalty box, but Catawba Ridge goalkeeper Liam Prendergast parried away the powerful shot.
Camden Gifford broke the deadlock in the 28th minute. Joshua Zawlocki played Gifford into the top of the Fort Mill box with a short pass through the middle and Gifford dashed in before playing a neat finish below Fort Mill’s keeper for the opening goal.
Fort Mill senior Braden Gritz nearly equalized straightaway three minutes later when he burst into the Copperheads box, but his quick shot ricocheted off Prendergast’s hands and away.
Catawba Ridge doubled its lead when the Fort Mill keeper was unable to clear a low shot from Zawlocki in the 35th minute.
Fort Mill finally pulled a goal back through Ryan Seitz in the 65th minute when he was able to get a right foot to a low cross from a free kick and redirect the ball past Prendergast to halve the lead with 13 minutes left to play. And Braden Gritz equalized just eight minutes later when he dribbled the ball infield from the far side and launched a hard shot into the top of the net to make it 2-2 with less than six minutes left.
But Catawba Ridge only needed one last attempt, and Fernandez provided it, connecting with a last-minute corner from the far side, and sending the Catawba Ridge bench into rapture.
“Over the second half, we were much better,” said Fort Mill coach Mark Seren. “It’s breaking my heart to give up a goal in the last minute. We’ve not beaten Catawba Ridge in our history. With 12 seniors, this was their shot to get one. It’s a heartbreaker, but it’ll come with more confidence.”
“The boys could have phoned it in after the equalizer,” McCarter said. “But we preach about five-minute periods. That was the focus, and we did it emphatically.”
Catawba Ridge begins its Region 3-4A schedule with a road game at South Pointe Friday, March 8. Fort Mill will also play at South Pointe in a non-region game Thursday, March 7.
Lady Copperheads get shutout of Jackets
Three different Lady Copperheads scored to help Catawba Ridge to a fifth non-region win on the season Tuesday evening at The Pit with a 3-0 win over Fort Mill to open the soccer doubleheader.
McKenna Randall and Kyleen Bents tallied first-half goals before Sadie Commerford notched a third for the Copperheads, who improved to 5-3 overall, just six minutes before the final whistle. With the loss, Fort Mill drops to 1-4-1.
Bents, a senior captain, has scored seven goals in the first eight games. Randall scored her second goal of the season in the 14th minute to give Catawba Ridge a 1-0 lead.
Bents doubled the lead in the 34th minute. With a cross coming from the left wing, Bents stooped low to glance a header past the Fort Mill goalkeeper to earn a 2-0 advantage.
Catawba Ridge sophomore Lainey Kilpatrick took over goalkeeping duties from Peyton Pierson to start the second half. Junior Phoebe Serkin suffered a leg injury in the 50th minute and was substituted off for Kylie Manha for the Copperheads.
Fort Mill had its best chance of the night in the 65th minute when a Yellow Jacket midfielder was left open at the corner of the penalty box after a cross from the right found no takers. The midfielder tested Kilpatrick at her near post, but the Copperheads were able to push away the rebound. Fort Mill senior midfielder Merric Smith had a similar opportunity a few minutes later from the opposite side, but her shot was gathered by Kilpatrick.
Commerford finished off the night with an 84th minute goal. The senior striker raced onto the end of an outlet pass from her own half, dribbled the ball about 30 yards with a Fort Mill defender on her hip, then finished low into the Fort Mill goalmouth to put Catawba Ridge up 3-0.
Catawba Ridge head coach Joe Dority said he wanted to put his team up against tough competition like Fort Mill to “test ourselves.”
“It’s about the little nuggets that we can get better at,” Dority said. “We had players focused on playing their best, grinding even when others are out.”
Catawba Ridge begins the Region 3-4A schedule with a home game against South Pointe Friday, March 8. Fort Mill will take part in the Crescent Cup later this week with games against Hammond Thursday, March 7 and Academic Magnet Saturday, March 9.
