MATTHEWS – Southwestern Randolph’s bid for a first state championship in boys’ soccer came up short.
The Cougars fell 3-1 in the Class 2A final to Clinton on Friday night at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex.
“I thought we represented our school well,” Southwestern Randolph coach Jimmy Walker said. “We just came up short (in the final).”
Clinton took the lead in the 17th minute as Holden Spell scored the opening goal off an assist from Chris Zeleya.
Just 27 seconds later, the Cougars leveled the score on a goal from Fernando Hernandez. Jonathan Lopez-Degollado supplied the assist.
In the 37th minute, Clinton’s Brandt Sumner slotted a shot into the bottom left corner to give the Darkhorses the lead going into halftime.
Eight minutes into the second half, Clinton senior David Paz gave his team a two-goal lead as he gathered a ball in the middle of the box and fired it past Cougars goalkeeper Jonathan Perez-Dominguez.
Twice in the second half, Hernandez had shots bounce off the crossbar.
Sumner, a junior midfielder, was named the Most Valuable Player for the game.
Perez-Dominguez collected nine saves.
Clinton had five more shots on goal than the Cougars.
Southwestern Randolph (25-3) was in the title game for the first time.
“We set the bar pretty high for next year,” Walker said. “… We just weren’t ready for prime time.”
Clinton, which won states for the second time, had reached the final for the second time in three years. The Darkhorses lost in the 2022 final on penalty kicks to Black Mountain Owen.
Clinton and Southwestern Randolph were top seeded in their respective regions.
In the West Region final last Tuesday, Southwestern Randolph topped No. 14 seed Lincolnton 3-0 with Yael Ortiz, Aaron Avina and Hernandez scoring goals. Avina also provided an assist.
Clinton defeated third-seeded Greene Central 2-0 in the East Region final.
