Orange’s lacrosse’s Kale Womble, Jackson Runkle, Matthew Macneir and Jackson Eakes discuss win over Carrboro

The Orange lacrosse team has won 14 state playoff games since 2021. Last week, the Panthers opened the 2025 3A/2A/1A State Playoffs with a 11-7 win over Carrboro. Brett Clark scored the Panthers final four goals. Orange started the game with a 10-3 run. In his final game at Auman Stadium, senior longstick defensemen Kale Womble had several interceptions of Jaguars passes which led to Orange transition opportunities. Womble is second on the team with 31 turnovers created. He has 52 ground balls. Sophomore goalkeeper Jackson Runkle only allowed four goals in the final 36 minutes of the game and earned another win in net. Junior Matthew Macneir has been a starter on the varsity team since his freshman year. Against the Jaguars, he scored two goals. Sophomore Jackson Eakes leads the team with 98 ground balls. Going into the Carrboro game, Eakes has won 228 face-offs and has provided an important spark plug for the Panthers offense. On Tuesday night, the Panthers won at Seaforth to advance to the state quarterfinals for the fifth straight year. For the third time in four years, Orange will face First Flight in the state playoffs. It will be the Panthers first-ever trip to Kill Devil Hills. In 2022, First Flight defeated Orange to win the 3A/2A/1A Eastern Regional Championship. In 2023, Orange gained revenge with a win over the Nighthawks during the state quarterfinals in Hillsborough.