WINCHESTER — The night was almost too perfect for Isaac Carter to become a Handley boys’ soccer record holder.
It appeared to be a longshot heading into Tuesday’s home game at James R. Wilkins Jr. Stadium. Carter was four goals away from tying the program’s single-season goal scoring record (33) set by Seth Bridgeforth in 2016. But head coach Cosmo Balio and his team did its best to inch Carter closer to that milestone.
“It was pretty deliberate at times of trying to get him the ball,” Balio said. “I think they just understood they wanted their teammate to succeed.”
And late into the second half on Senior night, already riding a hat trick, he connected with Micah Combs — who assisted Carter four times Tuesday — on a give-and-go inside the box and recorded his 33rd goal of the season. Less than 10 minutes later, the two connected for the header that broke Bridgeforth’s record, triggering the goal rule in an 8-0 Handley victory.
“I may score goals, but Micah’s the best player on the team, and Micah’s the best player in the district,” Carter said. “I hope he knows that. He sets me up well, the team sets me up well, I’m just fortunate enough to finish them.”
While Carter had high praise for Combs, Balio said there’s no question that Carter deserves plenty of plaudits.
“He’s a special player. You don’t see [guys like] him all the time.” Balio said. “I’ve known Isaac for a long time and I’ve always said ‘dump the tank for me, kid,’ when [he’s] on the field, about just playing as hard as he can.”
Handley (15-1-1) closed its regular season campaign with a dominant win over James Wood (6-10-1). Carter’s five goals led the way for the Judges while Combs recorded a goal and five assists to cap off an unbeaten season in Northwestern District play.
After starting the game as a defender, a tactical substitution put Combs back into his usual midfield role, and on the subsequent play, Combs became involved in the attack. The junior midfielder worked the ball to the top of the penalty box, beating a Colonel defender left, and with the goalkeeper onrushing, found Finn Slaughter for a tap-in to score the opening goal.
Handley’s possession play kept it in control for the majority of the game, helped by winning balls in midfield and switching the field of play for dangerous cross opportunities. The Colonels often did well to close those down throughout the first half and headed into the break down 1-0.
“I thought we played a great first half,” James Wood head coach Chris Johnson said. “If we’re looking at the teams and who looked different in the second half, we were the team that looked different. They had the same number of opportunities. We just weren’t stopping them.”
And those defensive efforts almost paid off for James Wood as it nearly capitalized on a turnover in Handley’s end. Adam Casterana got to a Judges giveaway 30 yards from goal and found Brayden Pineda at the top of the penalty box on a well-timed through ball. The Colonels’ leading scorer found space around his defender and fired a low shot that forced a diving save from Aidan King-Miller.
Pineda was also involved in James Wood’s best chance of the game at the beginning of the second half, as he beat two Handley defenders along the touchline right of the goal to find the feet of Elvin Trejo-Lopez, who couldn’t redirect the potential equalizer on goal.
“James Wood was gritty in the first half,” Balio said. “We couldn’t find a hole to get into to break a line, and we were sluggish. I don’t know if it was the heat or whatever you want to call it, but I didn’t think we were playing to our potential.”
Moments later, Combs’ cross struck the arm of a James Wood defender inside the box and Isaac Carter stepped up to convert Handley’s second goal of the game, Carter’s 30th goal of the season. Three minutes later, Combs himself got on the scoresheet as an attempted low cross from the right side of the penalty box ricocheted off a Colonel defender and redirected into the far corner.
And that’s when the goal scoring onslaught began.
Handley capitalized on its second corner from a Combs set piece. Combs found Carter’s head, who flicked it into the back of the net for his second goal of the game.
And less than a minute later, the two connected on a tighter play inside the box, with Combs beating defenders to his right to set up Carter for an easy finish to record his hat trick and his 33rd goal of the season.
The initial focus of the game was on its seniors, Balio said, who each started the game. All goals except for Combs’ finish came from seniors, including Christian Cruz’s first goal of the season.
Handley now sits tied with Charlottesville for the North top seed in the Region 4D playoffs and will have a bye for the first round. The tiebreaker between the two will be opponents’ winning percentage, but the tie between the two cannot be decided yet since one of the Black Knights’ opponents has a game on Friday.
James Wood will be the North No. 4 seed and host North No. 5 Orange County next Tuesday in the first round of the Region 4D tournament.
Wins like Tuesday’s — like their wins all season — have Handley’s players optimistic toward a deep postseason run.
“We’re going for a state championship,” Carter said. “If it’s not a state championship, it’s a bust. Games like these, we just build our confidence and build our connection.”