The Cougars sophomore midfielder scored two second-half goals against the Imps to lead the Cougars to a 2-0 win over Cary on April 25. The win secured Apex the Tri-Eight Conference championship, which also means the Cougars will have home-field advantage throughout the upcoming NCHSAA 4-A state tournament.

“We’ve got to use it to our advantage, playing at home,” said Apex coach Kevin Todd. “We’re excited and we knew that. Throughout the season, that was a goal to get No. 1 and be home.”

The Cougars have owned the league since the turn of the century, but their rasp on this year’s conference-title clincher was tenuous for the first 45 minutes.

Apex spent the better part of the first half in Cary’s end, but all that time attacking didn’t create a score. The Cougars had eight of their 19 shots in the first half, but they put only three on frame. Cary goalkeeper Maddie Pendergraft easily stopped all three of them.

“There were scoring opportunities that we had that we just didn’t finish off, which can change the complexion of the game,” Todd said. “Perhaps we think about it too much, and that lends itself to not doing as well.”

By the start of the second half, Apex found its touch around the net.

In the 42nd minute, Kelly Dodd picked off a pass near midfield and broke toward the middle of the field. Dodd saw McCann make an overlapping run down the left flank and played the ball into space. All alone, McCann beat Pendergraft to the far post for a 1-0 Apex lead.

While Cary hung with the Cougars for much of the first half, the goal two minutes into the second knocked them back a bit.

“It threw us for a loop,” said Cary coach Ann Palmquist. “We were put back on our heels. Once we got out of that defensive mind-set, we were able to go toe-to-toe with them.”

Fourteen minutes after her first goal, McCann struck again. After a throw-in deep in Cary territory, McCann shielded her defender off the ball, spun around and whipped the ball in for a 2-0 lead.

“She worked this side aggressively. She was extremely intense,” Todd said. “And when you work hard, good things happen. I was happy for her it turned out that way for her.”

While Apex continued to attack for more goals, Cary had its chances, too. The Imps had seven shots, but none of them were on the frame.

Their best chance was in the 25th minute, when Emily DeNardis and Teryn Shaw forced a turnover deep in Apex’s end. Shaw played it back to DeNardis, but her one-time shot sailed wide left.

“The reason we didn’t have any shots registered is because we weren’t right on with playing our balls to feet,” Palmquist said. “So we weren’t given the opportunity to turn on a quick ball and take a shot. That’s something if we could’ve done that better, I think we would have had a scoring opportunity.”

Cary and Apex wrap up their regular seasons this evening. Apex is at Lee County and Cary is at Fuquay-Varina at 6:30 p.m. Both will return to action May 9 in the first round of the NCHSAA 4-A state tournament.