Charlotte Catholic soccer shuts out Concord, earns state title bid
Charlotte Catholic is going to the ‘ship.
The Cougars shut out Concord 3-0 in Tuesday’s N.C. 3A Western Regional championship game, punching their ticket to the NCHSAA 3A state championship soccer final Saturday.
The Cougars’ John Fahey scored 12 minutes into the game in what proved to be the game-winning goal. Ryan Bayadi added the other two goals including one on a penalty kick, and Catholic goalkeeper Bennett Lowder earned the shutout facing seven shots while making five saves.
Catholic will play Burlington Williams in Saturday’s state final at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m.
“It’s pretty special,” said Fahey. “We haven’t done this in a long time. We had an early loss last year (in the playoffs), and for us to win tonight and have a chance at a state championship is huge for us. We’re really excited.”
The Cougars scored in the 12th minute when Bayadi’s corner kick in the box deflected off of Fahey and into the net past Spiders’ goalkeeper Emmanuel Konneh, and Catholic led 1-0. The Cougars took the 1-0 lead to the locker room at the half. The first half was very evenly played with each team posting three shots, three saves and three corner kicks.
Concord pressured Catholic throughout the game but couldn’t dent the Cougars’ net. In the 62nd minute Catholic got a huge goal to increase its lead to 2-0, as Bayadi blasted a shot just inside the box that caught the top right corner of the Spiders’ net.
Then in the 71st minute, a real oddity occurred. The referee awarded Catholic two penalty kicks within less than a minute of each other. Cougars’ coach Oscar Del Pino choose Bayadi to take both penalty kicks. Bayadi buried the first one for a 3-0 Catholic advantage, but fired the second one over top of the Concord crossbar.
RECORDS: Concord (25-2-2); Charlotte Catholic (25-0-2)
THREE WHO MATTERED
John Fahey, Charlotte Catholic: Senior midfielder scored the game’s first goal which proved to be the game-winner.
Bennett Lowder, Charlotte Catholic: Cougars’ senior goalkeeper notched the shutout, with all five of his saves of the difficult variety.
Ryan Bayadi, Charlotte Catholic: Senior striker had two goals and an assist and led the Cougars’ with seven shots.
THEY SAID IT
“This season started last November when we went out in the second round to A.C. Reynolds. The seniors wanted to have a meeting right before the Christmas break. We talked about the things we needed to do better. The players said we’re ready, we’ve seen it, we’ve learned our lesson, and we’re not doing that again.” Catholic Coach Oscar Del Pino on how last season’s second-round playoff exit motivated the team to make it to the state championship game this season.
WORTH MENTIONING
Walter Williams won the East Regional Championship Tuesday with a 3-2 win over Jacksonville.
Catholic will bring a 25-0-2 record into Saturday’s 3A state championship game. The Cougars two ties were at Ardrey Kell and at home against Providence.
Concord finished the regular season with a record of 25-2-2, with the only defeats coming against A.L. Brown in a shootout 2-1, and the 3-0 playoff loss to Catholic on Tuesday.
After Catholic built a 3-0 lead with ten minutes to play, the game got chippy as the referee handed out several yellow cards to both teams.
Fahey, a senior, didn’t score his first career goal until Catholic’s final regular-season game. He now has three goals in the Cougars’ last six games, with two of those goals being game winners in the playoffs.
Catholic returns to the 3A state championship game for the first time since 2011 when it lost to Cardinal Gibbons. The last Cougars’ state championship win was in 2008.
UP NEXT: The 3A State Championship Game will be this Saturday, November 23 at 5:05 p.m. at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC as Catholic will meet Walter Williams High School.
2A Soccer: East Lincoln Advances
East Lincoln’s dream of a perfect soccer season remained alive Tuesday night, as the Mustangs trounced Lenoir Hibriten 5-1 in the 2A Western Regional final.
The Mustangs (27-0) were among eight North Carolina teams earning a spot in this weekend’s state championship matches, to be played Friday and Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.
East Lincoln will face Dixon in the 2A finals.
▪ The 4A championship will be decided between Wake Forest and Winston-Salem Reynolds
▪ Huntersville’s Christ the King, in its first season as an N.C. High School Athletic Association member, reached the 1A championship and will face Wake Forest’s Franklin Academy.
Times and dates for the soccer finals are expected to be announced Wednesday.
Here is a look at Tuesday’s finals:
4A West: Pler Reh scored the game-winning goal with about four minutes remaining, as top-seeded R.J. Reynolds (19-2-1) edged second seed Northwest Guilford 2-1.
Reh scored off a cross from Jack Holbrook. Harrison Neeble had scored for Northwest Guilford (19-2-1) with 14 minutes left, trying the score.
4A East: Second-seeded Wake Forest blanked top seed Holly Springs 3-0, behind two goals and an assist by Chris Guccio. The Cougars (20-1-2) shut down the explosive Holly Springs (22-3-1) attack, with Connor Kitson earning the clean sheet in goal.
3A East: Brennan Lagana scored two goals, including the game-winner, as Burlington Williams edged Jacksonville 3-2. Goalkeeper Andres Rincon made several big saves in the closing minutes for the Bulldogs (25-3), who were seeded third. Top seed Jacksonville finished with a 20-2-1 record.
2A West: East Lincoln’s explosive offense made the difference again, with senior Logan Gilley scoring two goals and his twin brother Chase adding a goal. Pearson Cunningham scored in the seventh minute for top-seeded East Lincoln, with Logan Gilley getting his first goal before halftime.
The Gilleys and Noah Graden added second-half goals. Hibriten (25-2-2), the second seed, avoided a shutout on David Franquiz’s goal late in the second half.
2A East: Fifth seed Dixon edged third-seeded Kill Devil Hills First Flight 3-2, building a 2-0 halftime lead and hanging on. The Nighthawks (18-4) rallied in the second half and tied the score, but Benjy Ames converted on a penalty kick with 15 minutes remaining, lifting the Bulldogs (24-1-1).
1A West: Fifth-seeded Christ the King got a goal in the ninth minute from Drew Hanson, then relied on its defense to knock off second-seeded Mount Airy 1-0. The Crusaders are first-year NCHSAA members and improved to 19-5-1. Mount Airy finished 23-2.
1A East: Mateo Espinoza scored the game-winning goal in the second half, as top-seeded Franklin Academy edged third seed Raleigh Charter 4-3. the Patriots will go into the state championship match with a 24-2 record.
Tyler Cozzie scored twice on penalty kicks for Raleigh Charter (19-4).
State Final Pairings
1A MEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP STATE CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRING
Saturday, November 23, 2019 - Koka Booth Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary - 6:00 p.m.
#1 Franklin Academy (24-2-0) vs. #5 Christ the King (18-5-1)
2A MEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP STATE CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRING
Friday, November 22, 2019 - Koka Booth Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary - 7:00 p.m.
#5 Dixon (24-1-1) vs. #1 East Lincoln (27-0-0)
3A MEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP STATE CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRING
Saturday, November 23, 2019 - Koka Booth Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary - 2:30 p.m.
#3 Williams (25-3-0) vs. #1 Charlotte Catholic (25-0-2)
4A MEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP STATE CHAMPIONSHIP PAIRING
Saturday, November 23, 2019 - Koka Booth Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary - 11:00 a.m.
#2 Wake Forest (20-1-2) vs. #1 R.J. Reynolds (19-2-1)
This story was originally published November 19, 2019 at 11:31 PM.
