Wilmington, NC (September 12th, 2023) - Cape Fear Men's Soccer took the pitch for their first Region 10 Conference matchup of the 2023 season vs. the Louisburg College Hurricanes. Last season, the Sea Devils and the Hurricanes finished a double-overtime thriller with a 1-1 tie at North Campus Soccer Field. But on Monday afternoon, Cape Fear managed to shut out the Hurricanes in a 3-0 battle: showing the conference that the Sea Devils are a force to be reckoned with this year.
Louisburg had long been a formidable opponent over the years - holding an overall 37-4-3 record over the Sea Devils in all-time competitions. The Hurricanes' longstanding reputation for success showed throughout the afternoon as they pushed the tempo and made it difficult for the Cape Fear midfielders to connect with their attackers. The Sea Devils remained patient and poised while working overtime to continuously put pressure on Louisburg throughout the match.
The first goal of the match came from a corner kick by Ricky Garcia with Trey Clements finishing it off with a header into the net. Clements continued to dominate offensively in the second half with a clutch goal and an assist from Chance Davis. The Sea Devils finished them off with Davis' killer goal off of a cross from Tyler Kroma. The Sea Devils outshot the Hurricanes 26 to 13 with a 3-1 edge in corner kicks to ultimately finish the match on top.
Cape Fear's back line led by goalkeeper Alejandro Sepulveda played a major role in holding the Hurricanes off and supporting their offensive runs with numbers up from the back.
"Great job to the boys for getting their first conference win under their belts," says head coach Giovanni Vlahos. "It's amazing to see such a young team be unselfish in their scoring. And them getting excited and finishing out these shutouts is even more impressive."
Men's Soccer will travel to Raleigh, NC on Friday to take on Wake Tech at 3 PM for their second conference matchup of the season.