Coverage by Lindsey Chester, winner of a 2011 Knight Digital Media Center Fellowship. Photograph of Cary Elementary by Hal Goodtree. Photo of Superintendent Tata courtesy of WCPSS.
Cary, NC – Members of the community are invited to share their opinions with the Wake County Public School System Student Assignment Task Force. You can read the school assignment plans online or go to one of two public information sessions in Cary. Read more
Cary, NC – The 2011 Cary Chamber of Commerce Small Business Awards gathered an impressive crowd at the Embassy Suites in Cary on Thursday, May 12th. This annual awards ceremony is dedicated to honoring local small businesses for contributions to the community through innovation, creativity, sustainability, success and community service. Read more
Cris Cohen is the resident humorist for CaryCitizen. Photo by Markku Åkerfelt.
Cary, NC – When eating out, a friend of mine will order a burger and ask that it be cooked rare. Based on the reaction he gets, this is the equivalent of saying he wants to kill kittens with his bare hands. “Would you like fries with your massacre?” Restaurants now consider the ordering of a rare burger to be not just rude, but a possible war crime. Read more
From staff reports. Photo by Mark L. Watson.
Cary, NC – Black bears have been reported as being sighted in Raleigh and Garner and now in Cary. It is unknown whether or not this is the same bear wandering the Triangle. Read more
From the blog of Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht, covering the week through May 22, 2011. Photo of Academy Street by Hal Goodtree.
This week started off with a little golf outing in Augusta and ended with my 2011 campaign re-election kickoff event. In between was the first budget work session, a joint meeting of the Cary/Morrisville subcommittee, and a few hours picking up litter. Read more
Story by Jim McGrody, photo by Sharyn Morrow.
Cary, NC – To all you backyard chefs out there – summer is closing in on us and your grill is calling your name. Read more
Cary, NC – Say farewell to the mild spring weather. It’s going to be hot and muggy in Cary for the next ten days. Read more
Story by Matt Young. Photo by Paul Joseph.
Cary, NC – Not just free beer and live music – which is an attention-getter in my mind…but great local free beer, and great local live music. Read more
Story by Matt Young. Photos by Suzie Wolf.
Cary, NC – It was a record crowd (5323) for women’s soccer at WakeMed Soccer Park tonight. The 2011 U.S. Women’s National Team, ranked number 1 in the world, faced off against number 4 Japan.
UNC Tarheel and National Team legend Mia Hamm was present. Indeed the crowd had more than the average smattering of Tarheel blue in it perhaps because of the preponderance of Carolina alums (7) playing for the team, including star of the game and 3-time NCAA Champion Heather O’Reilly.
The crowd was filled with smiling faces – largely families and kids from local soccer clubs wearing their Rec, Challenge and Classic team jerseys.
U.S. Team coach and North Carolina native Pia Sundhage said a few words to the crowd from the field.
The crowd was asked to bow their heads in honor of the victims of the recent tsunami tragedy in Japan. Announcements were made explaining ways donations can be given to the suffering population of Japan through the Red Cross.
The venue is a nice one. WakeMed Soccer Park is clean, and the field is terrific.
The two teams’ starters lined up and faced the crowd, as is customary in soccer matches. The Japanese team bowed to the fans as their names were called, the Americans waved.
Women’s soccer is great, folks.
The skill level of play is high, the game is fast.
The Japanese Team was quick and relied on fast breaks. The U.S.A. team had an obvious size advantage and better ball movement and play set-up. The average player for Japan was 5’3″ tall. The two starting forwards, Shinobu Ohno and Mana Iwabuchi are listed at 5’1″. High balls were consistently won by the Americans. The Japanese team was up to the task though, and made up for the lack of size with hustle (and lots of sliding tackles) to make for an exciting game.
The beginning of the first half was dominated by the U.S.A. with several good chances to score. The Japanese team got more than its fair share of offsides calls, a product of their strategy to make long passes toward the goal mouth and attempt to chase them down.
In the 28th minute forward Abby Wambach set up a textbook play – passing to forward Heather O’Reilly who brought the ball along the end line to the right of the goal and crossed the ball to forward Amy Rodriguez. Rodriguez shot the ball, scoring off the hands of Japan’s goalie, Ayumi Kaihori. Rodriguez also scored in the U.S.A. defeat (2-0) of Japan in Columbus, Ohio 4 days earlier. But is was clear that Wambach is key as this team’s playmaker.
The second half of the game began with lots of “near misses” by the Americans. In the 69th minute, U.S.A. put the game away with an O’Reilly goal fed by midfielder Carly Lloyd.
Said O’Reilly : “I am so happy to be back here in Cary. This crowd was awesome. I absolutely love this place. There is such a supportive fan base.”
After the game the sideline fences were swarming with tweens, mostly girls, calling players’ names for autographs, which they obliged. These players are their heroes, it was obvious. I handed my notepad to one desperate little girl looking for something to get autographed. She thanked me and handed the sheets of paper to her friends.
Cary saw a great team play tonight. The world will see them as a force to be reckoned with at the World Cup in Frankfurt, Germany in July.