Judges Top James Wood In Boys’ Soccer, 3-0

Posted: April 11, 2015
By ALLEN BRIDGE
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — The James Wood boys’ soccer team did well to stay with Handley for much of the game Friday night at Kelican Stadium, but the Colonels could only slow the Judges’ momentum for so long.

After striking in the opening minutes of the game, Handley used two goals late in the second half to put the game out of reach in a 3-0 Northwestern District victory over the Colonels.

“The second goal of the game [scored by senior Sergio Cruz] really set the momentum for us,” Balio said. “That’s when we really felt like we could put the foot on the gas and I think it took the air out of James Wood, which seemed to get us going.”

Cruz took the ball on a breakaway as he was being chased by Colonel defenders on his way to the goal and chipped a shot over James Wood goalie Cole Morris to give Handley (4-3, 2-1 Northwestern) a 2-0 lead midway through the second half.

The momentum swing was in noticeable favor for the Judges as seconds after the goal by Cruz, junior striker Seth Bridgeforth took possession from the Colonels on the ensuing kickoff, dribbled the ball through the James Wood (1-6, 1-2) defense and ripped a shot on goal that was deflected wide of the goal by a Colonel defender.

“I think Bridgeforth and Cruz, especially Seth, set our tone for us in the second half,” said Balio, whose team’s final goal was scored by junior midfielder Rosser Sirbaugh with a minute left. “We wanted to control the center of the field more in the second half.

“I felt like James Wood was outworking us in the middle and we knew we had to take that back to make the difference in the game.”

The Judges scored a quick goal in the fourth minute of the game as junior midfielder Jesus Trejo headed the ball into the back of the net off a corner by Bridgeforth. The Judges kept up the pressure, registering five shots on goal in the first 20 minutes of the half before the Colonels were able to register a shot on goal.

Despite being down 1-0, the Colonels kept playing and were able to finally register a shot on goal late in the half as junior Brady Burner hit a shot just wide of the net.

The Colonels kept knocking on the door with perhaps their best chance coming on a breakaway shot in the closing moments of the first half. Sophomore forward Liam Ebert ripped a shot at the top of the box that was knocked away by goalie Haniel Lopez, who had two saves in the first half before being replaced by senior Cole Stevens in the second half.

“We came out slow in the first 10 minutes of the game and the last thirty of the first half we played really well,” James Wood coach Brian Sullivan said. “We had the better possession and opportunities on goal to score. We couldn’t let up that momentum coming out of the half and had to continue winning the balls out of the air and creating chances to score.”

The Colonels continued the pressure early in the second half by playing the ball to the corner and getting chances to cross the ball in as well as chances on corners and throw-ins in the attacking third.

Junior midfielder Colin Watts offered countless scoring chances for the Colonels on his long throws to the goal, with the best chance to score coming off a shot by junior Jacob Parrish on a throw to the goal by Watts.

“We were able to keep the ball on the ground and play the ball to the corner more to create opportunities for us,” Sullivan said. “Watts is great at throwing the ball in and we were able to get some scoring chances on his throws to the goal.”

Despite allowing 13 shots on goal by the Colonels, the Judges, who registered 15 shots of their own on goal, never let the pressure get to them.

After taking a 2-0 lead, midway through the second half, Sirbaugh was able to put the nail in the coffin in the 79th minute.

Sirbaugh took possession of the ball and rocketed a shot from 30 yards out that sailed over the head of Morris to seal the Judges’ 3-0 win. It was Sirbaugh’s first goal of the season and first-ever for the Judges.