Ortiz scores goal in OT to give Green Hope the 4-A boys soccer title

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CARY -- Senior midfielder Rodrigo Ortiz scored in the second overtime period to power Cary Green Hope past Charlotte Myers Park 2-1 and earn the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 4-A men's soccer championship at WakeMed Soccer Park on Saturday night.

The Falcons tallied in the 93rd minute after Drew Altman laid the ball off to Ortiz, who cut inside and then buried it in the back of the net for the game winner. Ortiz earned the championship game Most Valuable Player award.

Myers Park opened the game in strong fashion and went ahead 1-0 in the fourth minute on a goal by Diego Suarez. The Falcons got the equalizer in the 54th minute when Fraser Murphy scored, assisted by Ryan Thompson.

The teams battled through one overtime period with no additional scoring to set the stage for Ortiz's heroics. Myers Park rallied right at the end of the second overtime, with Erick Suarez sending the ball into the net on a bicycle kick, but just after time had expired.

Green Hope had a 16-8 edge in total shots, with the Falcons having seven shots on goal to two for Myers Park. Green Hope had five corner kicks to four for the Mustangs.

Green Hope won its first NCHSAA men's soccer championship after runner-up finishes in 2009 and 2001. The Falcons ended the season with a 25-1 mark. Myers Park closed out a 22-3-1 season, finishing as the state runner-up for the second year in a row in its fifth trip to the final. The Mustangs took the state 4-A crown in '08.

The Raleigh Sports Consortium serves as a host city sponsor for these championships, along with the city of Raleigh and the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors' Bureau.

NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

2011 STATE MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS

WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary

4-A CHAMPIONSHIP  

                               OT OT

Charlotte Myers Park 1 0 0 0 --1

Cary Green Hope 0 1 0 1 --2

SCORING

4th minute MP--Diego Suarez

54th minute GH--Fraser Murphy (Ryan Thompson)

93rd minute GH--Rodrigo Ortiz (Drew Altman)