LUMBERTON — In a match that opened with fireworks, with two goals a side in the first 23 minutes, both teams settled in for a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle, and the scoreboard was stuck at even for the next hour of soccer.

Then, Omar Canuto made a game-changing play, St. Pauls scored the go-ahead goal with 59 seconds to go and the Bulldogs collected their first Robeson Cup championship, beating Red Springs 3-2 on Saturday at the Kenneth W. Simmons Soccer Facility.

“No words can describe that feeling,” Canuto said. “It was a really good feeling. The celebration, too, the goal, everything, I can’t put words into it.”

In the sixth edition of the boys Robeson Cup, St. Pauls (3-0) became the first school other than Lumberton to win the title. The Bulldogs beat the Pirates 4-2 in Wednesd

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