cchs wins soccer district

Prior to the 2024 soccer season, expectations were high for the Cumberland County High School Jets.

The experience coach Cub Whitson on his team, coupled with a talented group of underclassmen, Cumberland County’s postseason run was expected to be long.

The Jets checked their first goal of the list Saturday when they beat Livingston Academy 3-0 to win the District Tournament title.

“It is always awesome to win district titles against the opposition we face in this district,” Whitson said. “Livingston, DeKalb, Stone – they all give us good challenges.

“Winning this one is rewarding, but we’re always looking to move forward. This is just a platform to keep going to the next level.”

Gabriel Alva scored first for the Jets early in the second half to make it 1-0. A goal by Evan Shaffer a few minutes later gave CCHS a 2-0 advantage.

Graham Davidson got the final goal in the waning moments to the contest to post the final 3-0 margin.

The game was scoreless in the first half with neither team gaining much of an advantage. Both squads had opportunities to score, but neither could put the ball in the back of the net.

“In the first half, Livingston Academy really had us working hard. We just couldn’t get through onto the goal,” Whitson said.

“I didn’t really feel we were playing as bad as the boys felt like we were playing because they were very aggravated at halftime. So, we just talked about staying focused and keep working.

“We were talking about some things we can do to tweak it. The guys executed it beautifully. They got a goal. We just had to keep pushing because Livingston never gives up. At the end, we capped it off with a couple extra goals.”

Whitson said Livingston’s offside trap posed problems for the Jets early in the match, forcing Cumberland County to adjust. For CCHS, the adjustments worked.

“For the first goal, we talked about how we can’t neccessarily play through because they’re setting offside traps,” Whitson said. “We talked about finding each other and making a couple extra passes.”