HS Soccer Stop: Carmel Christian seniors get another crack at a rival this week

Not all regular-season soccer matches are created equal.

Take Carmel Christian’s contest Thursday, for example.

The Cougars host Rabun Gap School, a northeast Georgia prep power in a number of sports, including boys soccer.

The two teams meet at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Matthews SportsPlex, and there’s a bit of history between the squads.

The N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association’s 4A championship match in 2020 was between the two schools, with Carmel Christian winning 2-0. Last fall, the teams met again for the 4A crown, with Rabun Gap winning 1-0 in three overtimes.

With 16 seniors, a big chunk of the Carmel Christian boys soccer squad remembers the joy of 2020 and the bitter disappointment from last November. Several players say that overtime setback a year ago is driving the Cougars this fall.

“It still stings a lot,” says senior midfielder Dylan Dresser.

Adds senior defender Matthew Goodale, “We’ve had it in the back of our minds this season. We know what it feels like to be on top, and how it feels the other way around.”

The 2020 state title victory came under strange circumstances — framed, of course, by the strange circumstances of the COVID pandemic. Seven Carmel Christian players were sick with COVID on the day of the championship match. Head coach Jeff Dresser pressed some freshmen and sophomores into the starting lineup, and things turned out well.

“A lot of our current seniors had to step up that day,” Goodale says.

While they don’t come out and say it, there seems to be a feeling among the Cougars that this could be a special season, with the large group of seniors.

“Most of us have played together since seventh grade,” senior midfielder Gus Mendieta says. “During the game, we have a feeling of where everyone else is.”

Goodale adds, “It’s like a family. There is strong chemistry. The drills that our coach has installed help build that.”

Jeff Dresser says his team has really played two separate seasons this fall. The first season lasted three matches, culminating in a 2-1 overtime loss to Providence Day.

“We really had to regroup after the Providence Day loss,” he says. “I let the seniors take the lead. And they’ve done that.”

Dresser says his team has a pair of tough finishing matches. After facing Rabun Gap (11-1-2), the Cougars wrap up the regular season Oct. 11 against a 15-1 High Point Wesleyan squad.

“The whole idea was to prepare ourselves by playing a difficult schedule,” he says. “And that will be a difficult finish.”

He says he wants to see his team improve on “attacking as a unit.”

Goodale says the Cougars must get better at “finishing it off. We’ve got to get those goals when we have a chance.”

Jeff Dresser says learning how to finish a play takes time.

“That’s something you approach consistently, over the years,” he says. “You develop that.”

Dresser has been with many of these players for several years.

He arrived at Carmel Christian in 2016, as a middle school coach. This year’s seniors were sixth-graders then.

“We’ve been working on some of these things for years,” Dresser says.

The Cougars know that this week’s meeting with Rabun Gap might not be the last time the teams face each other this season.

“It could wind up being the two of us, facing each other again in the playoffs,” Mendieta said. “But we have work to do before we get to that.”

Big matches this week

MONDAY

No. 2 Providence (12-2-1) at Charlotte Catholic (8-4-1), 7 p.m. — The host Cougars have won three in a row, including victories last week over solid Butler and East Lincoln teams. These teams are longtime south Charlotte soccer rivals.

Providence Day (8-4-1) at Charlotte Country Day (12-5), 7 p.m. — The CISAA title might be up for grabs here. Charlotte Country Day won a 3-2 double-overtime decision at Providence Day on Sept. 20.

No. 7 Hough (8-4-1) at North Mecklenburg (10-4-1), 7 p.m. — The host Vikings could pose a real threat to the Huskies, with Presley Hodges (11 goals) leading a strong offense. Hough beat the Vikings 4-2 earlier this season.

TUESDAY

Mooresville (9-4-2) at No. 4 Lake Norman (10-1-4), 7 p.m. — There are no soft touches in the Greater Metro 4, and Lake Norman needs a victory over its neighborhood rivals to stay atop the conference.

WEDNESDAY

Union Academy (9-2-1) at Jay M. Robinson (12-1-1), 6 p.m. — These Yadkin Valley 1A-2A powers collide for a second time this season. They tied 2-2 on Sept. 12. Robinson is averaging about five goals per match.

No. 6 Hickory (10-0-3) at East Lincoln (8-4-3), 6 p.m. — It’s a showdown in the Western Foothills 3A. Hickory (6-0-1) has a slim lead over the Mustangs (5-1-1). The teams tied 2-2 on Sept. 12.

THURSDAY

Rabun Gap School (11-1-2) vs. No. 9 Carmel Christian (10-1), at Matthews SportsPlex, 4 p.m. — These teams have met in the private schools’ 4A state finals the last two years.

Mooresville (9-4-2) at No. 5 Cox Mill (8-1-4), 7 p.m. — It’s the second big Greater Metro 4 match of the week for the visiting Blue Devils.

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle

The Observer’s Sweet 16 Soccer Poll

Dropped out: None. Also receiving consideration: Hopewell (4A, 8-3-2); Hickory Ridge (4A, 8-1-2); Charlotte Country Day (Ind., 12-5); Providence Day (Ind., 8-4-1); Shelby (2A, 8-2-2); Jay M. Robinson (2A, 12-1-1); Davidson Day (Ind., 9-3-1); Bandys (2A, 11-1); Union Academy (1A, 9-2-1); Patton (2A, 12-1-1).

This story was originally published October 3, 2022 at 6:00 AM.