PITTSBORO — Orange, coming in as second in the Central/Mid-Carolina boys’ lacrosse conference, scored five goals in the second quarter to avenge an earlier loss to then first-place Seaforth 10-8 on April 15.
Tied at two goals apiece after the first quarter, Orange outscored Seaforth 5-2 in the next period, flipping the momentum and giving itself the lead for the rest of the night.
Junior Brett Clark scored a team-high three goals for Orange, and junior Matthew Macneir poured in two. Seven different Panthers scored a goal throughout the game.
Orange, which lost to Seaforth 11-6 on March 13, also held the Hawks to their second-worst offensive performance of the season. Seaforth recorded its lowest scoring output since opening the year with a 13-6 loss to East Chapel Hill on Feb. 25.
“I was proud of our guys’ effort, so it wasn’t necessarily that,” Seaforth coach Joe Hubbard said. “It was more about their gameplan. Hats off to them. They did a really good job of guarding our guys, playing aggressively on the ground balls, and that, at the end of the day, is what was the difference and gave them that win.”
Seaforth jumped on Orange with two early goals from junior attack Ivan Grimes and senior attack Cameron Exley, who finished the night with three goals each.
However, Orange quickly returned the favor with Clark’s first score just minutes later. Three minutes after that, senior Drew Jouannet intercepted a Seaforth pass near midfield and ran it all the way in for the tying goal.
Grimes quickly put the Hawks back on top with a score less than a minute into the second quarter, but that was the last time Seaforth would have an advantage.
Starting with Clark’s second goal early in the quarter, the Panthers found a fast-paced offensive groove.
Senior Aidan Monteith gave Orange a 4-3 lead with nine minutes remaining in the first half, and then Clark found the back of the net again with a strike from the right side of the goal.
After goals from junior Jay Parker and Macneir, Orange’s lead grew to four with over a minute left until the break.
Exley stopped the bleeding with a last-minute score, making it a manageable 7-4 deficit at halftime. Although the game wasn’t out of reach, it felt as if Orange was in complete control by then.
“We’ve been here before,” Hubbard said he told his team at halftime. In the first meeting, Seaforth trailed Orange 5-2 in the second quarter before completing the comeback win. “We know what we’re doing in that situation, so come out, bring the energy. We like to think that the second half is ours and the fourth quarter, we own it.”
Seaforth slowed Orange’s offense down in the second half, but it couldn’t muster enough of its own to make a comeback.
It seemed as if Orange had an answer for every time Seaforth made progress. After a goal from Seaforth freshman Liam McCann brought the Hawks within two, Macneir notched his second goal late in the third quarter to put the Panthers ahead 9-6.
Orange held Seaforth scoreless for the eight minutes of the fourth quarter while adding one more score from senior Gray Crabtree.
The Panthers didn’t only get revenge on the Hawks with the win — Orange moved back into the conference’s driver’s seat for now. Seaforth fell to second place.
As the regular season winds down over the next three weeks, it’ll be interesting to watch the race for the Central/Mid-Carolina conference title.
Orange, sitting at 11-1 in conference play as of Sunday, has four conference games remaining while Seaforth, sitting at 9-1 in conference play, has six conference matchups left.
Southern Alamance and Williams are also still in the running for a conference title with only three conference losses.
Orange and Seaforth are also jockeying for a high seed in the 3A/2A/1A state playoffs. As of Sunday, Seaforth sits at fourth in the 3A/2A/1A East RPI standings (RPI of 0.586356) while Orange sits at third (0.618036). A claim to the conference title will automatically grant a higher seed as conference champions are seeded first.
Seaforth was in a similar position in 2024, battling for a conference title and eventually finishing second behind Orange. The Hawks have stormed back in 2025 with improvement, going on a program-best six-game winning streak and winning 10 of their first 13 games (won 9 of their first 13 in 2024) this season.
“Got to give some celebration to our seniors,” Hubbard said. “They’re really driving the ship right now. They’ve been at it now for four years, and they want it. They’re hungry.”
