From staff reports

The Salisbury boys soccer progam is attempting to make another playoff run, familiar territory for the Hornets, and they have company in Rowan County this time.
Carson has emerged as an area power for the first time in the sport, and while Salisbury is ranked No. 1 in 2A, a winning streak has carried Carson’s SPC champions to a No. 6 ranking in 3A.
Both teams are in third-round matches tonight.
“I think it’s great for Rowan County soccer and for the county,” Salisbury coach Matt Parrish said. “I’ve followed Carson all year, they’ve got a very strong team, and I wish them nothing but success.”
Salisbury won 6-3 when it played Carson back in August, although both teams have grown a lot since that early matchup.
Salisbury (23-1) has a great nucleus of seniors, guys who were sophomores on the 2011 state-title team, and the Hornets have won 21 straight matches since a 3-2 home loss to 3A Statesville on Aug. 26.
Bobby Cardelle, who scored his 98th, 99th and 100th career goals in Saturday’s 4-0 win against Lexington in the second round, leads Salisbury’s offense.
Salisbury earned the No. 1 seed in the 2A West bracket, and the Hornets will take on Monroe’s Central Academy of Technology & Arts tonight at Ludwig Stadium at 6.
Salisbury won 3-1 against CATA in September. CATA kept Cardelle from getting a goal, but Emmy Turcios, Clint Comadoll and Michael Brown had one each.
CATA is ranked ninth in 2A, so it’s dangerous. The Cougars also are the No. 9 seed in the 2A West bracket.
CATA coach Jay Niessner is a Catawba graduate. He missed the earlier matchup with a collapsed lung.
Salisbury is one win short of the school record for victories, which was established with a 24-1-1 record in that 2011 championship season.
Salisbury also won 23 games in 2009.
Salisbury lost at home in the third-round (2-1 to Trinity) in 2012, and it’s unlikely Parrish will have to remind his veterans about that one.
While Salisbury has been strong for decades, Carson sails uncharted waters when it travels to South Iredell tonight for a 7 p.m. contest.
Carson was just a cotender in the tight SPC pack for much of the year, but it closed with a furious run.
Carson was 5-3 after losing to Concord on Sept. 17, but the Cougars are now 17-4.
That means they’ve won 12 of 13. The No. 5 seed in the West bracket, they’ve won eight straight since an Oct. 8 loss to Hickory Ridge, and they’ve blitzed playoff foes Hickory and Asheville — established soccer names — by a combined 9-1 count.
Dashing forwards Brandon Flores and Fox Correll are Carson’s version of Cardelle and Turcios, and Flores has been a scoring phenom all season.
South Iredell (18-2-2) tied Hickory, but it may be the toughest team Carson has faced since Salisbury.
The Vikings won 12 straight at one point this year, although they dropped October matchups with Statesville and Lake Norman in their tough mixed 3A/4A league.
South Iredell is ranked fourth in 3A and is the No. 4 seed in the West bracket.
The 3A West bracket was largely busted in the first two rounds, but No. 1 seed Marvin Ridge is still alive.
Virginia receiver Keeon Johnson (A.L. Brown) had his biggest game of the season in Saturday’s loss to Saturday.
The true freshman had five catches for 77 yards. He has 12 receptions for 167 yards this season.
Livingstone’s women won 56-47 in an exhibition at N.C. Central on Tuesday. Cierra York scored 18 points, while Diamond Tolliver had 14.
• Brevard’s Darius Moose (Carson) had 10 points against UNC Asheville.
Catawba’s women ended the season with a 2-1 home loss to Lincoln Memorial in the first round of the SAC tournament on Tuesday.
Anna Toole scored on a PK for the Indians (10-8-1).
• Catawba’s men ended the season with a 2-0 loss at Queens in the first round of the SAC tournament.
Frankie Cardelle (Salisbury) had four saves, including a stop on a PK.
The Carson girls basketball team will host a middle school clinic this Saturday. The clinic is from 9-12 and costs $15.
Contact coach Brooke Misenheimer at 704-855-5034 or misenhmb@rss.k12.nc.us.