Fauquier Girls’ Soccer Team Beats Colonels, 4-1

Posted: April 17, 2013
By GREG BRILL
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — Through Fauquier’s first four girls’ soccer games, senior forward Caity Ashley had yet to score a goal.

So when the Falcons took the field for Tuesday night’s non-district matchup with host James Wood, Ashley finally broke through. Then, she got another. Then, a third goal.

The Falcons worked their offense up very well most of the night, and Ashley’s hat trick paved the way to a 4-1 non-district win over the young Colonels.

An all-Evergreen District first-team selection last season, Ashley was usually on the receiving end of some beautiful passes from classmate Julie Kohler and junior Sierra Kroencke.

Being able to strike twice in the first 21 minutes more than uplifted Ashley’s confidence, and her third goal just three minutes into the second half pretty much secured things for Fauquier (3-2).

“The great thing was the crosses were coming right into me,” Ashley said. “I really couldn’t have done it without my teammates. I was frustrated because I hadn’t scored yet this season [before Tuesday], but it sure came together for me tonight.”

The Falcons, who also got a first-half goal from Kohler to lead 3-0 at the half, won their third straight and just missed a second-straight win by shutout when James Wood sophomore Alex Stanford scored with just seconds left in the match.

Having outscored opponents 10-2 during their winning streak, the Falcons can sense that chemistry is beginning to improve with each match.

“It felt good to see that,” said Fauquier coach Rick Ashley, who also happens to be Caity's father. “I felt like our attacking form was better tonight. We did a lot of good things and it's getting better each match. We created some really good scoring chances. I loved the play through the midfield and our outside back did an awesome job switching the field with one pass, and that was to our right-winger, which resulted in a goal.

“I’m very pleased overall with how they are improving from game to game. I mean, even with the game over at Handley [a 2-1 overtime win on April 6], there was a huge improvement. The girls are starting to connect passes and get the ball out to girls in space. Then, they’re just attacking the goal. The finishing was good tonight.”

For James Wood (2-6), finding the same type of consistent play will take time. The Colonels started six freshmen against a Fauquier team that had five seniors in its lineup and plenty of speed to play possession over the entire field.

Down three goals at the half, James Wood coach Jim Carden tweeked his lineup some and his squad was able to have more of an opportunity to score over the final 40 minutes while doing better to limit Fauquier’s chances.

“In the second half, we had three fullbacks — all freshmen — back there, and we gave up one goal,” Carden said. “The freshmen responded really well. I mean, how many people play three freshmen in the back?”

With youth sometimes comes missed opportunities when getting near an opponent’s goal. The Colonels did a good job to attack as the match progressed, but they also had trouble finishing on several occasions.

“Our balance isn’t right and we’re not creating space,” said Carden, whose team’s only wins this season have come against Warren County. “You’ve got to put the ball in [the goal]. Using our feet and finding more space, and we’re not doing that consistently. We really haven’t played up to [the level] we can play at yet.

“It’s early, with young kids you’ve got to be patient. We are and they showed some good stuff tonight. They feel bad, but that’s how you learn.”

The Falcons did not take long to gain control of the match. In the eighth minute, Kohler worked up into the penalty box from the far side and sent a pass near the goal line. Caity Ashley was already on the spot and sent her kick in with ease for a 1-0 lead.

It would be the start of a continuing process where Ashley always seemed to be a threat to score. In fact, she used her head well midway through the first half to double Fauquier's lead.

Kroencke worked up from the near side and had Ashley trailing just a few yards behind, to Kroencke's right, in the penalty area. With a swift cross from Kroencke, Ashley won a battle with her mark by sending a header rolling up and into the back right corner of the net past James Wood freshman keeper Leah Hancock in the 21st minute.

“I don’t know how we got it out to that side of the wing, but there was just some space left open in the middle,” Caity Ashley said. “I just went in and screamed for [the ball], just so [Kohler] would look for me. She got the ball right to me.”

The Falcons went on the attack again not long afterward. On another set piece in the penalty box, Kroencke sent a strong blast from the right side that was deflected right back to Kohler, who sent the rebound back in during the 29th minute for a 3-0 lead.

When Caity Ashley struck again, off another assist from Kohler, in the 43rd minute, the lead swelled to four goals.

“She puts a lot of pressure on herself to score but we really rely on her more as a player that comes back and sets the ball for other players to score,” Rick Ashley said. “So, for her to score three goals, that’s a breakout for her. Normally when that happens, the floodgates kind of open up [for her].”

The Falcons also scored four goals in beating Liberty in their district opener last week, and the team can feel good about how things have come together over the last few matches.

“We have definitely, since the early part of our season, been picking it up a lot in practice,” Caity Ashley said. “We weren’t too happy how the first couple matches turned out. We lost to Culpeper [in the second match], a team we felt we should have beat, and that one has motivated us ever since to play better and to go out and win.”

The Colonels kept up a good fight and finally cashed in on a good opportunity in stoppage time. Freshman Emily Denton pushed up the field and fed Stanford off the near side, and Stanford sent an easy blast in past Fauquier’s second keeper of the match, Emma Averna, with just seconds to spare in the match.

“It shows that we didn’t give up, and I’m proud of that,” Carden said. “We got one [goal] and it might not have been enough, but at least we were still fighting in the end. We’re fighters to the end and that's all you can ask of them.”