By Robert Niedzwiecki
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — James Wood High School girls’ soccer coach Jim Carden has supplied his team with numerous words of the day this year, and Tuesday’s was “resilient.”

In reality though, resilient is the word of the season. If the Colonels didn’t possess that quality, how else would they have earned two breakthrough wins in the span of five days?

Four days after picking up their first win of the year on Friday against Skyline, James Wood delivered an emphatic 4-1 Northwestern District victory against Handley at Jerry L. Kelican Stadium.

“We really struggled in the beginning of the season,” said James Wood junior forward Cat Woznak, who had a goal and an assist. “It’s really nice to peak now. Playing so well Friday and today, it really makes me feel like we’re going to go into the [district] tournament and be real competitive for the first time.” Tuesday marked the first time the Colonels (2-9-4, 2-4-2 Northwestern) have beaten the Judges (5-8-2, 4-3-1) in at least seven years, and Carden couldn’t have been prouder of the effort that delivered it. James Wood took a 1-0 halftime lead, then added two goals in the first six minutes of the second half.

Before the game, James Wood’s third-year coach, who won 184 games in 12 years as Handley’s boys’ coach, told his players that they were the most resilient team he’s ever had because of their ability to rebound from difficult defeats and sub-par play.

All they did in response was score more than two goals for the first time all year and shut Handley out until the final two minutes despite being without starting goalkeeper Kaleigh Fincham. The Colonels only found out shortly before the game that a concussion would keep her out, but Marissa Messer made seven saves in her place.

Carden was particularly happy that his three seniors — Tori Roach, Deanna Shenk and Becca Jenkins — earned a win on senior night.

“The composure ... tonight we kicked the ball like we should and passed the ball like we should,” said Carden, whose team will face Skyline in Thursday’s district play-in tournament game. “We came in with a good gameplan to mark tight and not give them the midfield, and I thought we did that. We played a good game against Skyline, but tonight we came together.”

In their first matchup against the Judges at the Handley Bowl, James Wood took a 1-0 lead, only to see the Judges tie the game in the 78th minute and score the game-winner in overtime. Once again, the Colonels put the pressure on Handley with the opening goal, and it couldn’t have been more unlikely.

In the ninth minute, sophomore Sydney Arnette (one goal, one assist) drew two players toward her by the right sideline and played a ball toward the top of the penalty box. Woznak initially had no thoughts of making an offensive run, but that changed when she looked up and saw no red Handley jerseys covering the middle of the field.

“I was trying to hold back and play defense, but I saw Syd go up and I saw this huge gap and I was like, ‘I have to get in there,’” said Woznak, who grounded her shot to the left of Handley goalkeeper Holly Ogilvie. “She played a perfect ball, and I just took one touch and put it in. It was the best assist I could ask for. It was beautiful.”

Led by sophomore sweeper Nancy Riggleman, James Wood limited Handley to just three shots the rest of the half.

All was not perfect with the Colonels, however. Junior forward Katy Spencer was taken out and talked to at one point in the first half because she was struggling, and when the second half commenced she was anxious to make a contribution.

She scored after taking a Woznak pass and dribbling into the box in the first minute of the second half, then five minutes later stuffed in a loose ball that Ogilvie was unable to corral.

“I just wasn’t playing good and I was really upset with it,” Spencer said. “I knew I just had to fix it and come out and score.”

A goal by Arnette, a mid-season JV callup, on a Sarah Callaham assist and a goal by Handley’s Cindy Quarles completed the scoring.

The Judges were without forward Alison McDonald (quad) and defender Anna Robinson (ankle) Tuesday, but for Handley coach Luke Mason, missing personnel was hardly an excuse for the team’s performance. After one question, it took Mason more than 10 seconds to find the words to describe why his team struggled.

“[James Wood] played better,” said Mason, whose team will face Millbrook in the district semifinals. “I don’t know what else to say. We didn’t play like a team that [was] in contention for first place last week. We need to put this behind us and play like we’re capable of. This was one of our worst games.”

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