Boys' Soccer Notebook

WINCHESTER — If the Handley boys’ soccer team goes on to defend its Class 4 Northwestern District championship, the Judges are going to look back on this week fondly.

Handley was standing at defeat’s door in both of its games against Frederick County rivals Sherando and Millbrook. The Warriors took a 1-0 lead against the Judges on Tuesday in Stephens City, and the host Pioneers were up 3-1 with 20 minutes left on Thursday.

But Tucker Heglas scored off an Alex Pinon-Santos assist with three minutes left against Sherando, resulting in a 1-1 tie. And in the 76th minute against Millbrook, John Avant scored off an Owen Mattens assist to tie the game at 3, then Mattens scored with less than two minutes left in overtime to give the Judges a thrilling 4-3 win.

Had Handley lost both those games, the Judges would be 4-3 with 12 points in the district, six points behind Sherando. Instead, Handley is in the driver’s seat. The Judges (7-3-1 in all games) are tied for first with the Warriors at 5-1-1 in district play, but Handley holds the critical head-to-head tiebreaker as a result of defeating Sherando 3-2 on March 19.

“We did well to bounce back in both of these games,” said Mattens, whose joy over scoring the game-winning goal was written all over his face on Thursday night. “We fell behind [against Millbrook], and we showed great fight to come out. If we can do what we did [over the final 20 minutes and overtime], we’re going to be a really dangerous team.”

Considering how much roster turnover the Judges have had this year, the fact that they’ve given themselves a chance to repeat this year is pretty remarkable.

Handley returned two of the district’s top players in Mattens and Avant this season, but it lost seven starters. The fortitude that they’ve displayed in this week’s comebacks demonstrates that the new starters have embraced the challenges that come with trying to defend a district title.

“I can’t say enough about the guys’ heart, and just never giving up,” Judges coach Scott Bucey said after Thursday’s win. “This is at least the third game we’ve tied up within the last 10 minutes of the game.

“I always say that character carries over on to the field a lot, and we’re just overflowing with character. Guys accept whatever role we ask them to do, whether it’s a position they’re not used to or filling in at a different role for their position, these guys are always so willing to do those things.”

The Judges are getting balanced production on offense. In 20 games last year, only three players scored five goals or more. But in 11 games this year they already have four players who have scored at least four goals —Mattens (10 goals, five assists), junior midfielder Tucker Heglas (five goals, two assists), Avant (four goals, five assists) and junior forward Alex Pinon-Santos (four goals, four assists).

Mattens — one of four different players to score Thursday along with Avant (one assist), Pinon-Santos and senior defender Michael Roberson — was glad to find the back of the net for the team’s sake on Thursday, but also for his own. After taking a pass from freshman midfielder Cristian Castro, Mattens dribbled into the box and slotted a shot past Millbrook goalkeeper Nathan Hershberger (six saves).

“I only had one thing on my mind [when I got the ball],” Mattens said. “I knew I was going to shoot it. There were a couple of people that might have had a better chance than me, but I just wanted to step up and make a play. I hadn’t really been finishing too well these past few games. If I’m being honest, that wasn’t the best finish. But all that matters is that it crossed the line.”

Handley didn’t have its best defensive game on Thursday. Avant noted that the team has struggled on defending set pieces this year, and the Judges let Jack Science’s throw-in bounce in the box before Jake Hansbrough headed it in two minutes into the second half. Bucey said some miscommunication resulted in Ricardo Palma winning Juan Tovar’s high-bouncing long ball and scoring to make it 3-1 in the 52nd minute.

But after giving up six goals in their first four games Handley had only allowed five in the six games prior to Thursday. New goalkeeper Adam Pollak has averaged six saves a game and made a spectacular diving stop of Palma in the first five-minute overtime session to keep the game tied at 3-3.

“I do feel as the season is progressing, we’re getting a lot better,” said Avant of the team as a whole. “We have a great group of guys who always fight to the end. We’re in the driver’s seat right now [for the district]. If we can just fix a few things, we’ll be solid. And we’ve just got to make sure we play a full game instead of half a game.”

Millbrook

The Pioneers (7-5, 4-4) were understandably dismayed at letting a 3-1 lead with 20 minutes left slip away on Thursday. Millbrook coach Keith Kilmer didn’t feel like his team’s level of play dropped in giving up the lead, though.

“Things just didn’t go our way,” Kilmer said. “That second goal [in which Pinon-Santos ripped in a shot from just inside the 18, the ball] bounced between two of my defenders, and it just happened to go in front of their guy. And their keeper made a phenomenal save on Ricardo. It is what it is.”

Had Palma scored, he would have a hat trick. The talents of the diminutive transfer from Heritage were on full display on Thursday night. On both of his goals, Handley might have been able to clear the ball away if Palma wasn’t so fast, but his determination helped him get to and knock a couple of balls past Pollak.

Palma’s eight goals this year are double the amount of any other Pioneer.

“He has a motor that doesn’t stop,” Kilmer said. “He’s a fantastic worker for a striker. You don’t always get that type of effort. That one goal that he flew down on the right [in the second half], my assistant coach turned to me and said, ‘That reminds me of [2014 Winchester Star Player of the Year] Shane Moyer back in the day. Shane Moyer was a super-fast dude. He flew past everybody.”

Another dangerous addition to Millbrook’s team this year is the junior defender Science’s throw-ins. Science’s throw-in to the far post that Hansbrough finished was his team-high sixth assist this year. Kilmer said he believes all but one of Science’s assists have come on throw-ins.

“It’s nice to have that as a threat,” Kilmer said. “It doesn’t always work, but it’s good to have.”

Science and Hansbrough are also part of a strong defense that has five shutouts this year.

Kilmer said Thursday was an improved performance from its previous game, a 3-0 loss to Millbrook last week.

“James Wood outworked us and outhustled us,” Kilmer said. “This game we weren’t outworked or outhustled. There were mistakes made, and they took advantage of them.

“I’m disappointed by the loss, but I like the way the players are with themselves most of the time. I like the way they react and act. They certainly work their tails off in practice. They let us push them as hard as we want to push them.”

Sherando

Sherando coach Pat Anderson said his Warriors (8-1-2, 5-1-1 district) definitely missed an opportunity on Tuesday against Handley.

“We needed to get them just because they beat us the first time,” Anderson said. “We just had one mental lapse defensively, and Handley made us pay for it. We had numbers back, but we just didn’t have the right shape.”

Still, it’s been a successful season for Sherando, particularly for its defense. The Warriors have given up only 11 goals in their 11 games. The Judges are the only team to score more than two goals against the Warriors this season.

“The [defense] has gelled together with each other,” Anderson said. “We started a couple of young guys in the beginning of the season in the midfield and on the back line. So those are coming together now and getting on the same page with each other.”

The Warriors’ defense features center backs Mike Leckie, a senior, and sophomore Ethan Laing (seven goals, two assists). Sophomore Jacob Hill and junior Joe Wagner are the two outside backs.

Behind them is senior goalkeeper Spencer Scott, who is averaging seven saves per game, allowing 0.7 goals per game, and has four shutouts.