Girl's Soccer - Colonel Girls Edge Handley In OT, 3-2

Posted: May 16, 2015
By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — The 2015 season hasn’t gone the way the James Wood girls’ soccer team wanted, but they couldn’t have asked for a better way to end their regular season and celebrate the team’s five seniors.

The 2014 Northwestern District champion Colonels rallied from a two-goal deficit five minutes into the second to defeat 2015 Northwestern District champion Handley 3-2 in overtime Friday at Kelican Stadium.

“We just knew we had to keep fighting no matter what,” said senior midfielder/forward Alex Stanford, who assisted sophomore forward Neary Casebolt’s goal one minute into overtime and scored the game-tying goal with 23 minutes remaining. “It’s senior night, so this game meant a lot to everyone, and not just the seniors.

“I wouldn’t say there was concern [when we down 2-0]. We just had to go full-force forwards.”

James Wood (7-8, 4-4 Northwestern) was the only district team to beat Handley (8-7-1, 6-2) this year, winning the previous matchup 3-0 at the Handley Bowl on April 10.

Trailing 2-0 and going into the wind, the Colonels looked like they were heading for their seventh loss in nine games and perhaps their third straight defeat by shutout after losing to Millbrook 2-0 last Saturday and 7-0 to Heritage Tuesday.

But the Colonels gave up little in terms of dangerous shots after Megan Gaynor headed in a Rachel Levinson cross for the Judges five minutes into the second half, and James Wood did well to take advantage of the opportunities it had on a night in which the Colonels were outshot 16-11.

Stanford — the reigning district player of the year — set up the last after freeing herself for a left-footed cross near the right sideline. The ball bounced across the face of the goal and just under a diving attempt by Handley goalkeeper Ellie Volinsky (four saves) before hitting the left post.

For a moment, it was anybody’s ball as it ricocheted outward. But Casebolt — one of the smallest players in the area — slid in and knocked the ball into the net for her 11th goal of the year to put James Wood up 3-2.

“I knew I had to get that in for the team, for Alex, and the seniors,” Casebolt said.

“When I looked up and I saw Neary was there, I knew if I could get it to her she was going to put it in no matter what,” Stanford said. “Even if she had to throw her body onto it, she was going to get it in.”

Handley managed a couple more deep shots over the remainder of overtime, but none seriously tested James Wood senior goalkeeper Charlie Woods-Hulse (five saves).

When the final whistle blew, James Wood coach Jim Carden spun and pumped his fist, and just as important, stayed on his feet. Carden slipped and fell late in regulation when he tried to avoid a couple players and the ball when the action closed in on him by the sideline.

“[Handley] got a goal off a mistake in the first half, so [in the second half] I thought we were still in the game, we were playing well, our heads were up,” Carden said. “I told them we just had to keep playing, and good things happen if you keep playing. Tonight we did that.

“We haven’t gotten many breaks this year. But we came back, to the girls’ credit. What a great night. Senior Night. You couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Stanford — who was recently selected to play in the Virginia High School Coaches Association senior all-star game this summer and scored her 13th goal this year Friday on a flick over Volinsky’s head from the top of the penalty box — and Woods-Hulse were able to celebrate at the end with fellow seniors Katie Schneider, Brooke Marcy and Laura Moss thanks to contributions from all over.

Carden gave a lot of credit to junior center backs Adrienne Thomas and Abby Lanham for their play, as well as sophomore Hannah Moszak after being moved to a starting outside back position. Carden was also impressed with freshman Katelyn High — she scored the first goal in the 49th minute after crashing toward the net following a Lanham free-kick cross that was deflected high into the air.

Despite the defeat, Handley played a solid game.

Olivia DeArment sent in a rebound of a Megan Gaynor shot five minutes into the game to make it 1-0, and Gaynor headed the ball in with pace from the top of the goal box after Levinson crossed the ball in from the left sideline.

“We had better run of possession and looked really sharp in the first half,” Handley coach John Lynch said. “Our goals were phenomenal. Good finishes, smart plays. Overall, I thought we played well.

“But in the second half, [James Wood] got a couple of things that just fell their way, and they finished their opportunities. That’s really what it came down to. Both sides played pretty well. Both were aggressive. But in soccer, sometimes things fall the way you want, sometimes they don’t.”

Seventh-seeded James Wood will take on No. 2 Heritage Tuesday in Leesburg in the Conference 21 quarterfinals. Lynch said Handley will likely be the fourth seed in Conference 23 and host Amherst in the quarterfinals on May 25. The Judges won the conference title as the fourth seed last year.

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