Powerful Wood, Handley girls tie in first matchup of season

WINCHESTER — It’s much too early to tell how teams will be seeded in the North section of the Region 4D girls’ soccer tournament.

But as of right now, the road to a state tournament berth will go through James Wood’s Kelican Stadium. And after coming closer to beating the Colonels than any team has all season, a Handley team that is still very much in the hunt for the top seed in the Region 4D North knows it has the potential to beat their rivals on the road.

In an evenly played match that started after a 30-minute weather delay that included heavy rain, Handley and James Wood battled to a 1-1 Class 4 Northwestern District draw after 80 minutes of regulation and 10 minutes of overtime on Tuesday at Kelican Stadium. It’s the first time all year a team has been able to match the Colonels (10-0-1, 6-0-1 district) on the scoreboard.

Though the Colonels applied more offensive pressure overall and had a 7-3 edge in corner kicks, the Judges (8-2-2, 4-0-1 district) had a 12-11 shot advantage. The area’s two leading scorers were the ones who found the back of the net, with James Wood junior forward Jolie Jenkins (19 goals) scoring first and Handley junior forward Emeryce Worrell (20 goals) following.

“I think it was a good game on both sides,” James Wood senior midfielder McKenna Newcome said. “Just both of us hustling and grinding it out. We both fought hard.”

James Wood led 1-0 at halftime after Jenkins pushed the ball forward with a couple of touches after she ran onto a long pass from Jasmine Hackman in the 11th minute. She then knocked the ball in from close range off the far left post.

Jenkins nearly put the Colonels up twice late in the game, but Alli Roberts (five saves) came off her line each time to play a role in maintaining the tie. In the 75th minute, Jenkins dribbled toward goal with a defender on her, and the ball got knocked to the right after Roberts slid to the ground. Jenkins was able to collect the ball and send it back in toward a teammate at the far left post. Roberts dove toward the ensuing shot that went straight ahead, which James Wood coach Donavan Russell said caught the left post.

In overtime, the ball was played ahead to Jenkins late in the first half of overtime, and she dribbled in. But with Roberts charging, her shot toward the far left post went wide just before the two players collided. After staying on the ground for more than a minute, Jenkins walked off under her own power and was back for the second half of overtime. Neither team could mount a dangerous opportunity in the last five minutes.

Both teams would have preferred a win, but Handley took a big step forward on Tuesday. The Judges have been without three injured starters the last two games, and the previous contest was a 4-0 loss to Brentsville.

“We’re hanging on by a thread,” Judges coach Nicole Hobson said. “I think walking out of here with a tie with as many people out that we had today was a good fight for us. I’m proud of our younger players stepping up and taking on roles they’re not used to, and playing positions they had to learn on the fly because of injuries. Everyone’s sacrificing themself for the sake of the team, and that’s nice to see.”

The Judges had a 6-3 shot advantage at halftime, but most of those were long-range attempts against Alaynah McGuire (three saves, including two in the first half). Hobson thought Handley did a better job of getting forward after halftime.

“We were trying to force things up the middle, and we were clearing the ball up the middle, and giving [James Wood] possession really high in the field,” Hobson said. “We talked about when we clear and attack the width, we have a lot more opportunity.”

Worrell collected a cross from the left side from Brie Wilson in the 49th minute near the top of the penalty box, surged past the defense and scored to make it 1-1.

Roberts did her part to keep the game tied from there, and so did Handley freshman center back Reese Craig. She stopped blasts from both Jenkins and Newcome from inside the 18 that likely would have found the back of the net if not for her presence. She had to range far to stop the shot by Jenkins.

“Reese was like a second keeper,” Hobson said.

“The defense supported me when I came out,” Roberts said. “If I didn’t have them back there, it would definitely be a goal [in some situations].”

Newcome — who watched Roberts save her rocket shot in the first half — gave credit to Handley for stopping some of James Wood’s quality opportunities.

“I thought we did a lot to get those chances,” Newcome said. “They just didn’t go in. Alli Roberts played amazing in goal.”

Russell thought his defense did well to limit Handley’s opportunities. He also liked what his offense did to give his team a chance to win one game after he said the Colonels had a lot of off-target shots against Skyline. Just before Worrell’s goal, Sloane Ferrebee ripped a shot that went just wide, a low shot toward the left corner.

“That’s where we want to aim,” Russell said. “Our decision-making offensively was fantastic. We’ve been working on taking good shots.”

Handley and James Wood will close the regular season against each other on May 17 at Handley, where the Judges have beaten James Wood each of the last two years. The Colonels still have games on Friday at Kettle Run (Handley tied them 0-0), Fauquier (the Judges beat them 5-3) and Brentsville, so the Judges could still get the North No. 1 seed if those teams have success against James Wood.

The Judges are off until next Tuesday, when they host Manassas Park.

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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