James Wood Girls’ Soccer Hands Millbrook First District Loss Since 2011 With 4-2 Win

Posted: April 29, 2014
By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI

WINCHESTER — After delivering a performance that it felt was good enough to beat Millbrook in a defeat on April 8, the James Wood girls’ soccer team went out and became the first Northwestern District team in three years to beat the Pioneers on the scoreboard.

James Wood used a first-minute goal and three ensuing goals that came as a result of corner kicks to snap host Millbrook’s 23-game unbeaten streak in the district with a 4-2 win on a rainy Monday night.

“Oh my gosh. This is the best feeling ever,” said junior midfielder Alex Stanford, who scored two goals off assists from Emily Denton. “This is what we play for, these district games with our biggest rival. ... It’s always the best feeling to come out on top. It’s something we’re not used to. It’s awesome.”

As James Wood coach Jim Carden said, there’s still plenty of games to be played in a district that can be won by any of the four Winchester-Frederick County schools.

But beating two-time defending district champ Millbrook (7-2-2, 2-1-1) — which had gone 21-0-2 since losing to Handley in the 2011 district tournament championship — was definitely a major breakthrough for the Colonels (4-3-2, 2-1-1).

“We’ve been around the goal all year but haven’t been able to score,” said Carden, whose team lost 3-1 to Millbrook on April 8 in a game that did not count toward the district standings. “But [Monday] we got some gorgeous goals. I thought everybody held their position well, we kept our composure, and they just played well.

“[Millbrook’s the] champs, and they played like it. It’s only one game really, but it’s a big game for Wood. Our kids play so hard and they listened so well this week, and it really was a team effort.”

James Wood showed it meant business right from the outset, needing just 30 seconds to score the opening goal.

Freshman Neary Casebolt (one goal, one assist) was actually denied by the Millbrook defense after being caught from behind on a breakaway, but she had the composure to track down the loose ball and pass it backward to an incoming Denton (one goal, three assists), who buried the ball in the back of the net from 15 yards out.

After that, the spotlight was put on each team’s ability on set pieces, and James Wood proved better at executing them by turning its eight corner kicks for the game into three goals.

Monday was Denton’s first game taking corner kicks for James Wood. Her corner kick in the 15th minute didn’t directly result in a goal, but Millbrook’s inability to clear it resulted in the ball coming back to Denton near the left endline, and she fed a pass into the middle that Stanford deposited into the net from about 12 yards out to put James Wood up 2-1.

With the score 2-2, Denton again connected with Stanford, who redirected a left-side corner from Denton into the net to make it 3-2 three minutes before the half. Finally, Denton found Casebolt at the near post on a left-side corner, with Casebolt also redirecting the ball out of the air for a crucial 4-2 lead in the 58th minute.

“We haven’t been able to do much with corner kicks this year,” Denton said. “People were there to finish every ball. I think that was a huge part of it. We were just crashing the goal, and aggression was huge on the corners. Without aggression, you can’t win anything.”

And with Stanford in the box to play the ball, Denton wasn’t surprised things worked out as well as they did.

“I can always count on Alex to be on the end of any ball I send in,” Denton said. “She’s going to give her all no matter what.”

James Wood emerged victorious because the entire team did that. The Pioneers — who were outshot 11-9 — recorded five shots in the second half, but Millbrook never created any particularly dangerous opportunities in the second half against a James Wood defense led by goalkeeper Charlie Woods-Hulse (five saves) and center backs Makayla Gloyd and Adrienne Thomas.

Millbrook showed resiliency in the first half by answering each of James Wood’s first two goals. Nilsia Velazquez scored from close range after Holly Elko headed a ball to her off a Devan Davis corner, and Casey Ackerman flicked in a Davis free kick from 40 yards out with her right foot from about six yards out.

But Millbrook coach Matt Cottino said the Pioneers struggled in particular once they got down by two.

“We couldn’t possess the ball, and we were just kicking it,” Cottino said. “They outplayed us. They were moving the ball, and we couldn’t find it. [James Wood] did a great job. They came to play.

“I can’t recall any corners that we’ve been scored on this year, and we gave up three [Monday]. It’s something we addressed at halftime, but they had great set plays. It’s definitely something we’re going to need to work on in practice and get better for next time.”

After Monday, James Wood is ready to take on all comers.

“If we can keep this momentum going,” Denton said, “anything’s possible.”

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