WINCHESTER — After James Wood junior forward Kaylah Gankiewicz was asked a question about her height, Colonels head coach Donavan Russell said, “She was the biggest player on the field today.”
The 4-foot-9 Gankiewicz scored five minutes into the game by using her shoulder to knock in a bouncing corner kick, and James Wood’s entire team spent the rest of the game playing with the type of grit Gankiewicz displayed on that play to make the early lead stand up.
Handley came into Tuesday averaging 4.6 goals per game, but James Wood emerged with a 1-0 win in a game that featured breaks in the middle of each half due to the 80-plus-degree temperatures to earn a season split at the Judges’ James R. Wilkins Jr. Stadium.
A defense led by sophomore goalkeeper Sadie Kerns (eight saves) became the first to shut out the Judges (10-2, 6-2 Class 2 Northwestern District) this year and the second to hold them under three goals. With the win, James Wood (8-2-1, 4-2-1) is right in the thick of the district race.
“The first game, I think we played well enough to beat them,” said Russell, referencing the team’s 3-1 loss at James Wood on March 26. “This game, the girls were mentally tough. Very, very mentally strong. We’ve been working on that.
“The defense was solid. Bend, but don’t break. Very few mistakes. We talked about paying attention, using your brain, and they did that. I think we controlled the midfield — we used an extra defensive midfielder —and played very good defense, better than we did last time. The balls that were down in the corner and coming across, we did a good job getting them out. We wanted to focus on the top of the 18, and we didn’t have any mistakes in there.”
Fronting Kerns was senior center back Lauren Russell, a combination of outside backs featuring seniors Yeakley Pullen, Hannah Given and Hailey Given, and junior defensive midfielder Audrey Hottle. Russell also credited Katie Padgett from moving into her typical forward spot and thriving in a central midfield role.
The Judges outshot James Wood 7-3 in the second half, but the ones it did put on target were swallowed up by Kerns, who recorded her area-best seventh shutout of the year.
The sophomore made two big saves within a six-minute span in the second half. In the 55th minute, Emma Ricci (area-best 23 goals) took control of a failed clearance in the box, but Kerns came off her line to swallow up the shot. In the 61st minute, Ricci fired a hard shot from 20-plus yards out after taking a backward pass. But Kerns reached high and to her left to haul in the ball.
Just like in the 55th minute, Kerns also came off her line to deny freshman Julia Nerangis in the first half by sliding forward and taking away any possible angle for a shot.
“Those are the reaction saves you have to make in the moment, and you just have to hope you made the right decision,” Kerns said.
A lot more often than not, Kerns does just that.
“She’s very smart,” Donavan Russell said. “She played amazing.”
Handley coach Britt Miller agreed. She said the biggest difference between the two James Wood games was how the Judges finished their shots, and Kerns did her part to prevent the Judges from doing that.
“[Kerns] played a great game,” Miller said. “Some of those shots, a lesser keeper wouldn’t have been able to get to.”
The Judges made a late charge to tie it up. Mikayla Balio shot a ball directly at Kerns from 25 yards out in the 79th minute, then had a shot deflected over the goal a minute later. James Wood then prevented the Judges from converting two corner-kick opportunities.
“We kept the intensity up the entire game,” Kerns said. “We came into this game with the right mindset and just played our hearts out.”
Gankiewicz said she knew James Wood was going to win from the start, and she sent the Colonels on their way by redirecting Katelyn Mounts’ corner kick from the right side into the back of the net. The Colonels earned the corner after Gankiewicz’s shot from the right side from 12 yards out was punched out of bounds by Handley goalkeeper Sally Sydnor (six saves).
Gankiewicz is tied for Padgett for the team lead with seven goals.
“Kaylah works so hard,” Donavan Russell said. “The last few weeks she’s been killing it at practice and trying to be as tough as possible. That goal is because of her toughness. The rest of the game, she had great turns against a Handley defense that’s strong and big. She understands the physicality of high school soccer.”
The Colonels had plenty of chances to add to their lead, but Handley defender Jessica Alamo kicked away a shot by Gankiewicz after Gankiewicz pushed a loose ball past Sydnor in the 10th minute; Abby Ensogna missed high on rebound shot a few minutes later; and Sydnor deflected a Padgett shot just wide in the 21st minute.
Miller said it was difficult for the Judges to be limited on warm day — two players were out because of injury or illness, and another player participated despite being ill. She said she felt her team played well after a rough start, but it wasn’t enough.
“I think we came out a little bit harried and frantic, but once we settled down, I felt like the girls turned out great,” she said. “We were accepting the ball better and making better choices. I’m not unhappy with how they played. I thought they did some things really well with the stuff we asked them to do. We had lots of shots and opportunities, but we weren’t able to finish them.”
