Colonels, Judges Play To 1-1 Draw In Girls’ Soccer

Posted: April 18, 2014
By JERRY HOLSWORTH
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — When Handley and James Wood square off in sports it is almost always an intense contest with lots of excitement, and Thursday’s battle between the Judges and Colonels girls’ soccer teams was no exception.

“We played well tonight, and we had great effort the whole game,” Wood coach Jim Carden said. “That’s really all you can ever ask of a team.”

Although both teams were pleased with their effort, the final score, a 1-1 tie, left both breathless and exhausted.

“Playing against Handley is what it’s all about,” Colonel forward Emily Denton said. “It’s what we play for, it’s what we train for. Without games like this one, soccer isn’t really fun. It’s competing in games like this one that make the game so much fun to play.”

The first half was dominated by both teams’ defenses and scoring opportunities were rare. Handley (4-1-1, 0-0-1 district) had a slight 5-3 edge in shots attempted, but with one exception, both goalkeepers were up to the challenge.

That one exception came with just 4:30 left in the first half when Judges forward Krystal Rosario took a cross from Olivia DeArment and volleyed the ball past Colonel goalkeeper Leah Hancock from 20 yards out to put Handley up 1-0 at halftime.

“Olivia was coming down the line on the left side and I just kept calling for the ball,” Rosario said. “She split it between two of their defenders. When I got it, I switched to my left leg and shot it.”

If the Judges thought that was enough to take the victory, Wood (3-2-2, 1-0-1) gave them a 40-minute education in how wrong that was in the second half.

“The first half was really nerve-racking,” Colonel fullback Abby Lanham said. “We knew we just had to keep going and keep trying to push the ball up. I thought we possessed the ball better in the second half. We played the ball to the ground and to each other’s feet in the second half.”

Although both sides’ defenses had a decided edge in the second half, the Colonels fought desperately for an opportunity to tie the game. With just 10 minutes gone in the second half, Wood got its first opportunity to get the equalizer when a shot by Neary Casebolt hit the crossbar.

“It was really intense in the second half,” Handley sweeper Scarlett Hutchins said. “But we knew that we had to play smart and play our game. We were really getting tired out there, but with the adrenalin and how coaches encourage us to give just five percent more that helped us to keep on going.”

Ten minutes later, the Colonels got another chance, and this time got the ball past Handley goalkeeper Ellie Volinsky.

“We just had to be strong out there and believe that we’re going to win every ball,” Denton said. “We were determined to take advantage of every chance we got.”

Denton drove the ball deep down the right side of the field then crossed it to Alex Stanford who was rushing toward the Handley net. Stanford headed it past Volinsky from five yards out to tie the score 1-1.

“I saw Emily coming down the sideline and I knew that if she got the cross that I had to be there for her,” Stanford said. “I gave it everything I had and hoped that my head would hit the ball, and it did”

The Colonels, however, were not finished threatening Handley’s goal, outshooting the Judges 5-1 in the second half. Over the last 15 minutes of regulation play, Wood had several scoring opportunities that just missed.

But it was Handley who nearly stole the game twice in the closing minutes of play.

With only a few second left in the second half, DeArment broke loose on a breakaway only to watch her shot from 10 yards out sail just wide.

With the game still tied, both teams headed into overtime near exhaustion, and it showed in the level of play.

After 80 minutes of intense high-speed play, the game slowed down considerably in the overtime and both teams were only able to manage one shot on goal.

“This was a great game, and it was really fun,” Judges coach John Lynch said. “It was a game that ebbed and flowed, and had lots of momentum shifts.”

Handley’s one attempt, however, was perhaps the most dramatic moment of the game. With less than five seconds left in the second overtime Madai Guzman launched a rocket at the Wood goal from just 15 yards out.

The ball, however, hit the crossbar, and Hancock grabbed it just as the official was blowing the whistle to end the game.

“That was really nerve-racking to play the whole game and face a shot like that in the final seconds,” Hancock said. “But as a goalkeeper you just have to go for it and make the save.”