Winchester Star Soccer Coach of the Year

Hild leads Colonels to historic season

June 28, 2011
By Robert Niedzwiecki
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER- After the James Wood boys' soccer team clinched the Northwestern District regular season championship, the parents presented the players with shirts to commemorate the feat.

The back of the shirt referenced a quote from James Wood coach Chris Hild: "Never been done before."

For Spencer Marfing and his teammates, it meant the world to win the district regular season and tournament titles and play in the Region II tournament, all for the first time in school history. But it meant just as much that Hild believed all along that they could achieve those goals.

"He had confidence in us," Marfing said. "He told us that no matter what happens in the future, we could say we were the first to do those things, and that meant a lot." Hild is The Winchester Star Boys' Soccer Coach of the Year after guiding the Colonels to a historic season in which their grit came through time and time again as they pursued their goals.

James Wood's defense set the standard for its toughness, and Hild made a big change early on to get the proper pieces in place.

The Colonels' roster lists Jake Carpenter, Chandler DeHaven and Alex Pate as midfielders, but from the second game on they teamed with sweeper Josh Marts and goalkeeper Elliot Shiben to form a formidable unit. James Wood surrendered nine goals in 10 district games and 1.5 goals per game overall.

"After that first game, we knew that in order to keep up with the big dogs, something had to change," Hild said. "The defense did a great job all year. Josh just has this vision where he always knows where the ball is going to be, Jake was probably the hardest worker on the team, and Josh made a lot of big saves."  With Marfing (nine goals, school-record 12 assists) and Logan Yost (four goals, eight assists) manning the midfield and senior forward Matt Henriques causing defenses fits up top, James Wood was strong in all areas.

Though the Colonels started the district season 3-0, the game that put their goals within arm's reach was their 1-0 win against Handley on April 21, which snapped the Judges' 12-game district winning streak.

"That really meant something," Marfing said.

The Colonels stumbled a little in the second half of the district season, losing to both Sherando and Millbrook. But they showed the mettle of a champion when Marfing scored the game-tying goal with less than three minutes left to tie Handley in the season finale to win the district regular season title.

What truly impressed Hild was that the Colonels stayed hungry after that. Because lightning ended the game against Handley with about a minute left in regulation, Hild said James Wood felt it had to prove itself all over again.

As Carpenter said after the district tournament was over, there was no doubt who was the district champions were.

The Colonels beat Sherando on penalty kicks in the district semifinals, then beat Millbrook 2-1. Both goals against the Pioneers were scored by Henriques, who hadn't scored since the first Handley game in large part because he had been battling back pain ever since, and the district final was the first time he was healthy.

James Wood lost to Kettle Run 6-4 in the Region II quarterfinals, but by scoring the last three goals, it walked off the field proud.

Hild and his players will always be proud of the 2011 season.

"They'll be remembered forever," Hild said. "Their might be other champions, but only they can say they're the first."

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