Burned by Cardinal Gibbons 2-0 Tuesday in a battle for the lead in Carolina 3A Conference soccer, Chapel Hill took out its frustrations on successive nights with dominating wins over Orange and nonconference rival Carrboro.

Led by two goals from Cole Shoup, Chapel Hill blasted Orange 6-1 Wednesday at Tiger Field and then led wire to wire at Carrboro in winning 3-1 on Thursday.

“This should help pump us back up some,” CHHS head coach Ron Benson said Thursday before hurrying off to watch the televised vice-presidential debate. “After losing to Cardinal Gibbons, this should exorcize some of those feelings for us.

“It will help us get energized for the rest of the season.”

Chapel Hill (14-5-0, 4-1-0 conference), ranked No. 10 in the state 3A poll, had a chance to catch No. 8 Cardinal Gibbons (10-3-3, 6-0-0) in the league standings before Tuesday’s loss at home.

The Tigers have four other Carolina 3A games left before closing their regular season at Cardinal Gibbons on Oct. 24.

Ben Fisher added a goal and an assist as Chapel Hill rolled over Orange.

Daniel Henao and John Walden each notched one score against the Panthers (1-11-3, 0-5-0), who gave up an own-goal.

Fisher assisted on Chapel Hill’s first two goals Thursday at 2A Carrboro (8-6-3).

He fed Nate Hebert near the top of the penalty area, and Hebert made a long run into the box to get one-on-one with the keeper before sliding the ball just inside the near post in the 12th minute.

Carrboro managed to fend off a dozen CHHS shots and six corner kicks for most of the first half, but then was stunned with 9 seconds left before the break, when Fisher lofted a corner to the far post, where Luke Ciocca neatly headed it back into the middle of the net for a 2-0 lead.

“That second goal – that broke our backs,” Carrboro coach Mark Kadlecik said.

Carrboro fought back with a sideways chip from Thar Thwai over the goalie to Nick Kranchenfels, who hit it low into the middle for a goal with 7:49 to play.

“Every coach will tell you that 2-0 is a dangerous lead,” Benson said. “They get a goal, and they get momentum, and that’s what happened.”

Down 2-1, Carrboro pressed forward in the closing minutes.

Chapel Hill took advantage with a counterattack by Matej Vidic, who made a 60-yard run behind the Jaguar defense and shot his one-on-one opportunity low past the keeper for a goal with 1:117 left to play.

“It certainly was nice to get that third goal. We should have had four more,” Benson said noting four Chapel Hill shots off or just past the post.

Moments later, Carrboro’s Mike McPeak neatly summed up the Jaguars’ situation for his teammates: “Forget this one. We’ve still got huge fish to fry. Monday is huge.”

Carrboro, at 6-3-1 in conference games, is the lone Carolina-12 Conference team without a loss to a 2A league rival in the meld 1A-2A league.

That gives Carrboro a leg up on a No. 1 seed in the post-season NCHSAA 2A tournament.

The Jaguars play Monday at 2A Northwood, which defeated No. 13 Durham School of the Arts earlier this month to drop the Bulldogs a game behind Carrboro.

Wildcats in control

of PAC-6 race

Luka Vujaskovic blasted in a rebound Louis Levin’s free kick, which got away from Falcon goalkeeper Billy Morgenlander midway through the second half Thursday, to lift East Chapel Hill to a 1-0 win over Durham Jordan and solidify the Wildcats’ hold on first place in the Piedmont Athletics Conference.

The win gives East (10-1-2, 5-0-1 PAC) a game in hand over Jordan (11-4-3, 5-1-1 PAC); the two rivals tied 0-0 when they met Sept. 10 in Durham.

East Chapel Hill has remaining conference games with Northern Durham (8-8-0) on Monday, at Southern Durham (7-8-0) on Wednesday, winless Hillside on Oct. 22 and then at Roxboro Person (0-8-1) Oct. 24.