Story by Hal Goodtree. Photo by Tom Mousseau.

Cary, NC – ESPN has released its high school soccer All-American list. Andrew Chadwick of Green Hope High School in Cary was named ESPN High School Soccer All-American Coach of the Year.

ESPN’s annual Fall Soccer All-American list includes 36 players – first, second and third team – plus one coach.

Coach Chadwick led the Green Hope boys squad to a state 4A championship in 2011. His overall record as a coach was 185-44-18.

The Email Bombshell

We asked Coach Chadwick about his reaction to the award. Did he know he was a candidate?

“No,” said the Coach, “I did not know about the award until ESPN emailed me. I was very surprised. I did not [even] know I was in the running.”

He continued, “To be named the High School coach of the year for the entire country is amazing and I’m so honored. To me, it speaks to the quality of our players and the program we built at Green Hope.”

“Every year, we had kids move to Cary to play for Green Hope and that is one of the most rewarding things to me, that kids wanted to move to play for us.”

Secret to Success

We asked Coach Chadwick about his keys to success.

“When I started in 2002, I had a very talented team, we did very well winning 22 games and losing 2, but we lost to Millbrook in the 3rd round of states. I was gutted, just like the team.”

The coach continued, “I was a good player, know the game, work hard and have  passion, but I wasn’t a very good coach, so I got educated. I spent every summer of the next 4 years progressing through the National soccer licensing program, D, C, B and finally the A license. There are less than 1,250 coaches in the U.S. with an A license.”

“I continued to work hard, experiment with teams, stayed passionate and studied the game. I can’t watch Manchester United or Barcelona and enjoy the game as a fan, I’m trying to figure out the purpose behind every action.”

“After every loss, even though it was just high school, I would not sleep well, I’d be up at 2 AM watching videos of the loss or making notes. My wife thought I was crazy.”

Next for Coach Chadwick?

Coach Chadwick announced last fall his plan to retire at the end of 2011 soccer season.

We asked him about his dreams for the future. Sports writer? Turn pro?

The Coach responded, “I will be an overqualified  recreational soccer coach for my daughter’s 6 year old team . One day, maybe I’ll return to high school or college coaching. Now it is time to coach my own kids in sports and in life.”

It’s a sure bet that if ESPN has a rec coach of the year, Andrew Chadwick will be in the running.

Story from staff reports. File photo by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC – Playing tough is one thing. But an excessively hostile atmosphere at a game in Person County last week is causing some parents to ask the NCHSAA to take another look at a plan that reassigns Panther Creek and Green Hope to the PAC 6 Conference.

More Than a Rough Game

Spectators described the game between Green Hope and Person High in Roxboro as more than hard play.

This from Twitter via JMBPreps:

Person County fans unanimously booing Green Hope’s cheerleaders. Folks, this is a hostile environment.

Not impressed w/the Person fans as they boo another GH cheerleader. She’s just doing flips guys. Chill out.

Things getting classless in Roxboro. Rockets player throws elbow on a screen to Flemmings, gets T’d up.

From the parent of a player:

One of their players stuck his foot out to trip one of our cheerleaders when she was back flipping on the court, they intimidated the referees who were afraid to call anything against them. We had 4 pretty good injuries – 2 concussions, split chin and a possible broken nose for which NONE had fouls called on them.

From the parent of a student:

The car of a GH parent was vandalized in Roxboro:

Upon arriving in Roxboro, after our hour and a half drive, we ran into Bojangles (literally 2 minutes from the school) for a drink in our Green Hope shirts and in the 5 minutes we were in there somebody drew on my white car in “Rocket” blue permanent marker. [Editor's Note: Person High is home to the Rockets].

Story by Lindsey Chester. Photo of Green Hope vs Cardinal Gibbons by Tom Mousseau.

Cary, NC – The fall sports season has been put to rest, and the tally of points is in. Cary’s Green Hope High School, 2 time Wachovia Cup winner, is on top for a third year in a row in 4A competition in the newly-renamed Wells Fargo cup.

GHHS Tops in Fall Sports

Green Hope clinched state championships in men’s soccer, women’s cross country, and a top four finish in women’s volleyball racking up 195 points to put them safely ahead by 25 points of #2 Broughton.

Raleigh’s Athens Drive High School is the only other Wake County Public School to make the top 15. Myers Park who has placed second to GHHS for 2 years, and who won the cup for 2 years previously is in 3rd with 165 points.

Gibbons On Top in 3A

Another local favorite, Raleigh’s Cardinal Gibbons High School, is way on top in the 3A classification with 347.5 points.

In 3A competition, the story has been all about Gibbons which dominated in all 7 fall sports. Crusader teams earned five different state championships: volleyball, women’s tennis, both women’s and men’s cross country and men’s soccer.

Wells Fargo Cup Standings

The Wells Fargo Cup, formerly known as the Wachovia Cup, is sponsored by Wells Fargo and the NCHSAA. The award recognizes the high schools that achieve the best overall interscholastic athletic performance within each of the state’s four competitive classifications. The Cup program is in its 33rd year.

Here’s the official list of standings. Where a ranking isn’t indicated, teams are in a tie.

4-A CLASSIFICATION SCHOOL POINTS
1. Cary Green Hope 195
2. Raleigh Broughton 170
3. Charlotte Myers Park 165
4. Charlotte Ardrey Kell 155
5. Asheville T.C. Roberson 147.5
6. Southern Pines Pinecrest 142.5
7. Watauga 127.5
8. Pfafftown Ronald Reagan 125
9. Charlotte Providence 107.5
Scotland 107.5
11. New Bern 102.5
Winston-Salem Mount Tabor 102.5
13. Raleigh Athens Drive 85
Greensboro Grimsley 85
Greensboro Page 85

3-A CLASSIFICATION SCHOOL POINTS
1. Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons 347.5
2. Charlotte Catholic 192.5
3. Waxhaw Marvin Ridge 157.5
4. Northern Guilford 152.5
5. Chapel Hill 147.5
6. Asheville 132.5
7. Weddington 117.5
8. Wilson Hunt 95
Orange 95
West Carteret 95
Franklin 95
12. Jacksonville 87.5
13. Havelock 85
Ledford 85
15. North Iredell 80
Crest 80
Hickory 80
West Rowan 80
Burlington Williams 80

Wells Fargo Cup points are determined by a system based on performance in state championship events. All schools that finish in the top eight positions (plus ties) earn points. In the playoff events involving teams from more than one classification, Wells Fargo Cup points are awarded based on the school’s standing against other schools in its own classification. If fewer then eight schools from a classification compete in a sport, only those schools that are represented are eligible to receive the Wells Fargo Cup points.

Points are awarded for all sports as follows: 50 for first, 45 for second, 40 for third, 35 for fourth, 30 for fifth, 25 for sixth, 20 for seventh and 15 for eighth. In the event of a tie, the schools receive an equal number of points based on the number of teams that tie and the number of teams that finish higher in the standings. Five points are awarded for each sanctioned sport in which a school competes.

Wells Fargo Cup standings are announced three times each school year: once after the fall, again after the winter sports, and then concluding with the winner after the spring sports season ends in June. The engraved silver cups are presented during NCHSAA Day activities at UNC-Chapel Hill each fall.

Cary, NC – Earlier this week, we reported that Green Hope won the state soccer championship in a gripping match against Myers Park on Saturday night. Now we have the pictures to prove it.

Great job by Tom Mousseau capturing the drama and passion of the final game. 

If you’d like to report on your sport for your school, email sports@carycitizen.com and we’ll tell you how get started.

Story from staff reports. File photo from by Tom Mousseau.

Cary, NC – Green Hope varsity soccer captured the state Division 4A title yesterday in a close match against Charlotte Myers Park at Wake Med Soccer Park in Cary.

Nail Biter

Green Hope trailed early in the game, but tied it up to send the championship match into overtime.

In the second OT period, the Falocns managed to get a score and hold off Myers Park until the final tick.

Andrew Chadwick, coaching his last game for the Falcons, filed these brief notes on Max Preps:

Green Hope ends the season 25-1 and captures the 4A NC State Championship with a 2-1 OT win over Myers Park. Green Hope came from behind in 3 of the 6 playoff games. In the final, down 0-1, Green Hope equalized, then score in the 2nd OT to win 2-1! Amazing season!!!

We’ll have photos of the match later in the week. But for now, it’s time to hang another championship banner in the metaphorical rafters of the town.

Story from staff reports. Photos by Tom Mousseau.

Cary, NC – In this edition of Wide World of Cary Sports, we focus on Green Hope varsity boys soccer, ranked #1 in North Carolina and #3 in the nation, according to Max Preps.

Juggernaut

Last week, GH dispatched Cardinal Gibbons 3-1. And on Monday, they put away Athens Drive four to zip.

Falcons soccer, under head coach (and sometime CaryCitizen contributor) Andrew Chadwick, are 9-0-0 in conference play and 13-0-0 overall this season.

Photos

Contributing Photographer Tom Mousseau captured the action against Gibbons last week. Coincidentally, Green Hope’s goalie is also named Thomas Mousseau.

More of Tom’s stellar sports photography can be found at All-Star-Photos.com.

Football: Green Hope Wins

In the biggest sports news of the week, Green Hope Varsity Football, under new coach Kwame Dixon, decisively ended their multi-year 0-38 drought with a 38-0 win over Smithfield-Selma on Friday.

Also last week, Cary High beat Broughton 14-7 while Panther Creek was fell to Leesville Road 49-0.

Pictorial: Soccer

Cary is a soccer town and our photographers were out in force last week covering the action.

RailHawks vs Minnesota

Maybe it’s the new management. Or maybe it’s the fired up team, leading the NASL by a large margin. But attendance (and excitement) at RailHawks games has skyrocketed this season.

Mike Baranski filed this report:

The Carolina RailHawks hold a seven point lead in the NASL after gaining a point against the Minnesota Stars on Wednesday, tying 1-1.  With 7 games left in the season, Carolina has a strong lead in the league standings.

Minnesota started the game strong and had several good chances, with their best coming in the first 2 minutes of the game.  The RailHawks also had their share of opportunities to score in the first half, but failed to finish and it was 0-0 at halftime.

In the 2^nd minute of the second half, Jonny Steele intercepted a ball in the RailHawk’s half and made a searching run to the top of the Minnesota 18-yard box.  He lofted the ball over the Stars’ defense to Pablo Campos, who managed to beat the Minnesota keeper at the near post, giving the Railhawks a 1-0 lead.

In the 55^th minute, Minnesota scored to tie the game and make the score 1-1. Carolina had the majority of the chances in the second half, but again could not manage to find the back of the net to secure 3 points.  The match finished 1-1, leaving Carolina well ahead in the standings with 3 home and 4 away games left.

Suzie Wolf captured the action on Wednesday as the Hawks fought to a tie with visiting Minnesota.

Falcons vs Durham Jordan

In high school soccer, Green Hope shut down Durham Jordan 5-0 at Falcons Stadium on Thursday. Tom Mousseau photographed the victory.

RailHawks vs Ft. Lauderdale

A massive crowd (maybe 5,000) showed up Saturday night to watch the RailHawks strike down the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers 2-0 on a mild evening in Cary.

Chris Adamczyk was on the field for CaryCitizen photographing the match.

Photos by Chris Adamczyk and Suzie Wolf. Story from staff reports. Above, Nicklas Lidstrom outside RBC Center.

Cary, NC – It was another epic weekend of sports in Cary. We have pictures for you of girls and boys basketball and from the NHL All-Star game.

Girls Basketball

Last week saw Green Hope (18-1-0) vanquish the girls of Cary High (12-6-0) by a score of 79-58. The Falcon girls also dispatched Athens Drive 67-36 and demolished Panther Creek 87-53 in the week just past. Kristen Gaffney  poured in 46 points in the contest with PCHS.

More Pictures: Green Hope vs Cary High (Girls) by Suzie Wolf
More Pictures: Panther Creek vs Green Hope (Girls) by Chris Adamczyk

Boys Basketball

Panther Creek (11-5-0) was stunned at home, losing to the Green Hope (7-11-0) boys by a score of 51-60. Chris Adamczyk filed these pictures.

More Pictures: Panther Creek vs GHHS (Boys) by Chris Adamczyk

NHL All-Star Game

Talk about epic – NHL All-Star weekend proved worth the hype, worth the effort, a grand time for all and a great showcase for the Triangle.

Chris Adamczyk has been covering the Hurricanes for CaryCitizen. She focused on the events and fans of All-Star Weekend.

More All-Star weekend pictures by Chris.

Photos by Chris Adamczyk and Karl Fisher for Citizen-Photo.com

Cary, NC – This week’s Wide World of Cary Sports features photos from the state invitational cheer leading championships that took place at the Raleigh Convention Center on Saturday, November 13th.  Cheerleaders from across the state took part in the competition, and we have photos of the squads from Cary High, Green Hope and Panther Creek.

We also have photos from Panther Creek football’s 1st round playoff win over South View, Green Hope’s Wachovia Cup presentation at UNC’s Keenan Stadium, and ACC Men’s Soccer action from WakeMed Soccer Park.

Another great week for Cary sports fans.

See full galleries:

• Green Hope Wachovia Cup Presentation, 12 photos
• ACC Soccer Semifinal Maryland vs. Virginia, 85 photos
• ACC Soccer Final Maryland vs. UNC, 106 photos
• Panther Creek vs. S View NCHSAA Round 1, 129 photos
• Panther Creek JV Cheer, 71 photos
• Panther Creek Varsity Cheer, 91 photos
• Cary High Varsity Cheer, 97 photos
• Green Hope Varsity Cheer, 114 photos

Reprints and digital downloads available at Citizen-Photo.com

Story by Lindsey Chester, photo by Chris Adamczyk

Chapel Hill, NC – On Saturday, November 13, Green Hope High School was awarded the prestigious Wachovia Cup during halftime of the UNC- Virginia Tech Football game. The Wachovia Cup is awarded for the best overall high school sports program in North Carolina.

Winning the Cup

In Cup competition, points are awarded for all sports on the basis of 50 points for first, 45 for second, down to 15 for eighth in a school’s division. Five points are awarded for each sanctioned sport in which a school competes.

In the 4-A classification, Green Hope finished first with 452.5 points to capture its first Wachovia Cup, with defending champion Charlotte Myers Park second with 380.

GHHS had some amazing teams during the 2009 season, including boys soccer that finished second in State playoffs and girls basketball whose only loss was the second place finish in State finals play.

Green Hope preserved its win by taking the 4-A boys golf title, finishing in the top eight in boys dual team tennis and in a tie for fourth among 4-A schools in the inaugural open girls lacrosse championship.

The Wachovia Cup winner receives an engraved silver cup and a banner for permanent display at the school. The Wachovia Cups are always presented at a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill football game.

Can they do it again for 2010? The school already has 2 State Championships (boys and girls cross country) and most of the girls basketball team returns to see if they can repeat their almost perfect season.

Excellence Across Wake County

Four other Wake County Schools also placed in the top 15 spots in the 4A division (see highlights below in red)

Division 4A Top Finishers

1. Cary- Green Hope    452.5
2. Charlotte- Myers Park    380
3. Asheville- T.C. Roberson    372.5
4. Raleigh -Wakefield     355
5. Lake Norman      335
6. Raleigh -Broughton     325
7. Southeast Raleigh       322.5
8. Matthews David Butler    307.5
9. Wilmington Hoggard    287.5
10. East Chapel Hill       267.5
11. Charlotte Ardrey Kell    262.5
12. North Mecklenburg    257.5
13. Southern Pines Pinecrest    255
14. Greensboro Grimsley    247.5
15. Cary        225

——————————————————————-

Photo (L–>R) Green Hope Athletic Director Mickey Bissette and Principal Dr. James Hedrick with the Wachovia Cup at UNC Kenan Memorial Stadium.