Well-timed run gives Millbrook soccer win over James Wood

By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI | The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — The Millbrook boys’ soccer team might be feeling the physical effects of a taxing schedule, but there was nothing wrong with its mental sharpness on Tuesday night.

A well-timed run by Pioneers junior midfielder Darin Douglas resulted in the game-winning goal with 18 minutes left as Millbrook defeated James Wood 2-1 in the Northwestern District opener for both teams on Wednesday night at Millbrook High School.

Area coaches predicted in the preseason that it would be difficult for any Winchester-Frederick County team to separate themselves from the pack this year, and Wednesday’s initial city-county game of 2017 showed that very well could be the case. Each team took 13 shots in an evenly-played contest that did not count toward the Conference 21 West standings.

But the Pioneers (4-1-2) — who have played seven games in 16 days and had a hard-fought 2-2 tie with Woodgrove on the road Tuesday — came out with the win by making use of their soccer acumen.

“I’ve made [long runs up the middle] a few times this year, but it just hasn’t been the right ball exactly for me to take advantage of yet,” Douglas said. “Paul [Blanco] played me through, and I just picked up my head and found the corner.”

With the ball in his possession a few yards in front of the midfield stripe, the junior forward Blanco threaded a perfect pass down the middle for Douglas to run onto.

James Wood freshman goalkeeper Ethan Russell (five saves) charged out to cut off Douglas’ angle. But from 20 yards away, Douglas shot the ball right, and it bounced once before hitting the inside of the post and rolling into the net.

“Excellent run,” Millbrook coach Keith Kilmer said. “I’ve got to be honest, I was shocked to see him make that run. They’ve got [Liam] Ebert, who’s really fast in the back, and I’m thinking, ‘What in the world ...

“But they didn’t pay attention to him coming out of the middle and making that run. It was a very unpredictable run. They didn’t anticipate it, we didn’t anticipate it. But he was in, and it was a great finish. He’s made that run several times and we haven’t found him, but we did tonight.”

Douglas said it all comes down to reading the defense, and he saw the opening. And naturally, he gave credit to Blanco for the pass, who recognized what Douglas was doing.

“Paul and Darin have played together a long time,” Kilmer said. “Great communication between the two of them.”

Though Blanco displayed excellent skill with the ball on his touches Wednesday, Kilmer said Blanco’s fatigue was evident. In addition to his Millbrook schedule, Kilmer said Blanco played three games each of the past two weekends with his travel team.

Kilmer said he’s loathe to ever give Blanco a breather though because he’s always one touch away from making an impact.

“You leave Paul in the game because he’s the one who makes those differences,” Kilmer said.

James Wood (3-3) did everything it could to manage the equalizer.

Six minutes after Douglas’ goal, Colonels’ senior forward Aidan Houser had an impressive turn in the box, but his cross was a bit too high for Zyven Coffman to get a head on. Paul Ebersole had a blast from 20-plus yards out with less than five minutes left, but it sailed about five feet wide, and than turned out to be James Wood’s last quality opportunity.

The Colonels did like the fact that they created numerous good opportunities for themselves after a disappointing start.

Houser and James Wood coach Brian Sullivan both felt the Colonels did not match Millbrook’s level of play at the game’s outset. Zach Hick’s penalty kick 12 minutes into the game after Osman Montano was pulled down in the box capped a run in which Millbrook outshot Wood 5-0.

“Once we got that first goal by Jairo [Reyes, on a header with seven minutes left in the first half], that really helped us in the second half to play well,” Houser said.

Considering the Colonels were playing with new defensive personnel, Sullivan thought his team played solidly. Ebert, normally a forward, was moved back to defense late in James Wood’s last game (a 6-0 loss to Riverside) in hopes of stabilizing the unit, and Matthew Digman should help on defense once he returns from injury.

“We had a lot of possession after those first [12] minutes,” Sullivan said. “They’re still working things out on defense, and we have to build chemistry. I think that showed on that one breakaway goal.

“But I was proud of the effort. We definitely had our opportunities in the second half. We just couldn’t capitalize.”

As for Millbrook, Kilmer couldn’t be more pleased with his team given its workload.

“I never cancel practice, but we’re not practicing [today],” Kilmer said. “We have [Conference 21 West foe] Harrisonburg on Friday. These guys are exhausted. For them to go the last six games without a loss is absolutely commendable.”

Chris Kozlowski made seven saves for Millbrook, and Russell had five saves for James Wood.

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