NWD GIRLS’ SOCCER: COLONELS EARN REGION BERTH

FRONT ROYAL —It was a grueling 90 minutes where both teams gave their best, but in the end James Wood upended Handley in overtime 3-2 to win its Northwestern District girl’s soccer semifinal match and advance to Tuesday’s championship against Millbrook.

“I worked at Handley and I understand Handley Pride,” Colonel coach Jim Carden said. “It was definitely on display today, but in the end, it was a great day to be a James Wood Colonel.” James Wood senior forward Sarah Callaham made it a great day with her late heroics. With the score tied in the second overtime, Callaham blew past the Judges’ sweeper and smashed a shot past Handley freshman goalkeeper Ellie Volinsky for the game winner. “Emma Watts hit me with a perfect pass and I think that it caught their sweeper off guard and I had an open path to the net,” Callaham said. “She’s a great keeper and I knew that I had to rip it to get it past her.” The victory also gives Wood an automatic berth in the Region II tournament, the first in Carden’s tenure as the Colonel coach.

It was not easy, though, as the Judges who played without three starters, battled with a ferocity that left the game in doubt until the last minutes of the second overtime. Handley’s Cindy Quarles was away at her sister’s graduation at Tulane, and Cassandra Alamo and Emily Snow were out with concussions.

The Colonels jumped ahead quickly, scoring in the first two minutes of play. Emma Watts crossed the ball to Alexandra Stanford, who volleyed it into the net. Handley answered 15 minutes later to tie the score 1-1 when Courtney Pryde scored. Wood, however, recaptured the lead seven minutes later when Sydney Arnette scored from point-blank range.

In between those goals, both teams battled relentlessly for points, making life miserable for both goalkeepers. Volinsky saved three of Wood’s eight first half shots for the Judges, and had seven saves for the game. Colonel goalkeeper Emily Woods -Holes only had to make three saves, but was pressured just as much as Volinsky, particularly in the second half.
“Handley played without several of their best players,” Carden said. “But this was also a great opportunity for us as a program, and today was really special for this team. At the end we were tired and they were beating us to the ball, but our girls really pulled through. It’s unbelievable what these girls have accomplished.”

Handley finally got the equalizer with 8:40 to play in regulation thanks to a brilliant play by Krystal Rosario. The Judges sophomore, despite twisting her ankle laid the ball off perfectly to Madai Guzman, who scored from 25 yards out to send the game into overtime.

“I thought that we didn’t play well in the first half,” Handley coach John Lynch said. “We played much better in the second half. We made one mistake in overtime, and that was the game. I believe that we put a really good team on the field, and also thought that they played a great game and gave a great effort."