Patriots Hold Off Colonels In Girls’ Soccer, 4-3

Posted: April 28, 2015
By ALLEN BRIDGE
Special to The Winchester Star

STEPHENS CITY — The Shenandoah Valley Christian Academy girls’ soccer team got its revenge against James Wood with a 4-3 victory Monday.

After losing to the Colonels 2-0 on Thursday, the Patriots turned things around and were able to protect a four-goal lead despite a late flurry of chances by the Colonels that forced SVCA goalkeeper Kayla Phaneuf to make two saves in the final minute.

The Patriots took advantage of having the wind at their back in the first half, scoring twice, and they then added two goals in the first two minutes of the second half to give them the cushion they needed to survive.

“With extremely windy conditions, any shot can become dangerous,” SVCA coach Dustin Wheelock said. “We were able to take advantage of that in the first, scoring those two goals, and then we did a good job getting in front of their shots to try and block those in the second half when they had the wind advantage.”

After facing heavy pressure from the Colonels (5-5) to start the game, SVCA was able to settle down and create several chances for its own shots on goal.

Midway through the first half, the Patriots (6-5-1) finally scored. After the Colonels’ defense failed to clear the ball out of the box, sophomore Mariah Baihly took advantage, connecting on a shot to give the Patriots the 1-0 lead.

“We started out a little rocky but we settled down and began to connect on some of our passes,” Baihly said. “We started to make runs and started connecting on through balls and we got it together.”

Sophomore forward Neary Casebolt had a couple of chances to even the score shortly after the Patriots took the lead, but Phaneuf denied Casebolt for two of her 11 saves.

The Patriots scored another goal just before the whistle at the half to extend its lead to 2-0. On a corner kick, the ball was swung into the box, and the Colonel defenders couldn’t clear it in time before it senior Krista Freemire converted.

The second half opened with a scoring flurry in the first six minutes. The Patriots kept the momentum going with two quick goals.

Senior Hannah McGann scored on a through ball from Anne Runion. A minute later, junior Abi Beaty scored on an assist by freshman Holly Goben, extending the lead to 4-0.

“Jumping out to the lead in the first half and then scoring those two goals to start the second half was huge for us,” Baihly said. “We got some confidence and had the momentum going for us and were able to hold on at the end.”

The Colonels never stopped fighting despite the huge deficit. Seconds the Patriots scored, Casebolt took the ball down the field and fired a shot at goal that went through Phaneuf’s hands, making it 4-1.

Two minutes later, junior Abby Lanham soared a shot right over the head of Phaneuf to cut the Patriots’ lead in half.

“We played a lot better in the second half,” James Wood coach Jim Carden said. “We had enough chances throughout the game but we didn’t take advantage of them. We missed a couple of chances at the end right in front of the net. But give SVCA credit, they played a great game.”

The Colonels kept the pressure on and drew a free kick 30 yards away from the goal. With the wind at her back, Lanham sailed a shot over the hands of Phaneuf to cut the deficit to one.

The Colonels had two chances in the closing minute to tie it, but Phaneuf came up big. Casebolt crossed the ball into the box in front of a pair of Colonels. One player took a shot that deflected off Phaneuf, then a another took a shot that Phaneuf corralled to seal the win for the Patriots.