Colonel girls play way into soccer semis

By Tom Myrick
Special to The Winchester Star

STEPHENS CITY — Goals on either side of halftime from Sarah Callaham and Cat Woznak fired James Wood into the Northwestern District semifinals, as the Colonels topped Skyline 2-1 in Thursday’s girls’ soccer play-in game at Sherando’s Arrowhead Stadium.

Callaham put the fourth-seeded Colonels on their way with a cool finish from a well-worked team move in the 27th minute before providing the corner from which Woznak headed in the eventual game-winner in the 63rd.

Katie Callihan grabbed a late consolation goal for the fifth-seeded Hawks, tapping in a rebound from close range with seven minutes remaining.

The win books the red-hot Colonels a date with top-seeded Sherando in Saturday’s district semifinal and extends the team’s unbeaten run in the district to four games. Currently on a three-match winning streak, James Wood (3-9-4) has not lost since May 7. “We played good enough to win,” James Wood coach Jim Carden said. “That’s all you need this time of year. You’ve got to give Skyline credit — their style is to play physical and play long balls, and they matched up well with us today. I think we had tired legs after spending so much energy against Handley two days ago. But we were good enough to get the ‘W’ and that’s what counts.”

Skyline finishes its season at 2-13-2. Both teams were bounced from the district tournament at the quarterfinal stage last year.

“I thought we played well tonight,” Hawks coach John Moore said. “I couldn’t ask anymore out of our girls. In the second half, they played hard and like they wanted to win the game. Maybe things will be better for us next year.”

The Colonels may have come into the game with all the momentum, but for the most part, the game was balanced in the early stages as an organized Skyline defense held its own.

The first real chance of the match fell to James Wood in the 15th minute, when a misplaced clearance from a Skyline defender gifted the ball to Katy Spencer 18 yards out. With the keeper stranded, the Hawks’ Jessica Brogan was alert to the danger, however, and provided a crucial block to keep Spencer’s shot away from an unguarded net.

At the other end, Kendyl Wood nearly opened the scoring for Skyline after her run from midfield was picked out by an inch-perfect chip from Brittney Brogan. Wood managed to get around the oncoming keeper, but her touch proved too heavy, forcing her to chase the ball down into the corner, and the chance was gone.

Callihan would try her luck for the Hawks soon after, though her long-range effort sailed straight into the arms of James Wood keeper Marissa Messer.

Gradually, the half began to swing in the Colonels’ favor, as they made good use of their movement up front and diagonal runs to open up space in front of the Hawks defense for midfielders Callaham and Sydney Arnette.

Arnette provided a great through ball to Woznak, only Woznak’s 50-yard run was denied by a Courtney Holloway tackle.

From the resulting corner, Nancy Riggleman missed out on a golden opportunity when she headed over the bar from eight yards out.

James Wood was knocking at the door, though, and the Colonels would soon make the breakthrough thanks to some exquisite interplay from their forwards.

Drifting out wide on the right, Arnette’s cross for Spencer was expertly steered into the path of Callaham’s perfectly timed run from midfield. The sophomore still had plenty to do, but she held off a defender before coolly slotting a shot just inside the left post past Skyline goalkeeper Chelsey Hackney.

Only the fingertips of Hackney denied Callaham a second goal just minutes later, as the keeper got a hand onto the midfielder’s high-arching shot. The Colonels still needed a goal-line clearance from defender Deanna Shenk to ensure they made it to halftime with their one-goal edge.

Skyline seemed a completely different team after the break, however, and the Hawks were arguably the better team in the second half. A measured pass from Brogan teed up Clara Heaton down the right-hand side of the box, and though she hit her shot well, it whistled wide of the far post.

The energetic Heaton nearly pounced on a Messer error soon after, as the James Wood keeper initially spilled a long ball from Callihan, only to collect at the second attempt with Heaton lurking nearby.

But any space previously enjoyed by the Colonels was now long gone, as Skyline worked hard to win balls in midfield and close down passing lanes as the game wore on.

“At halftime, coach just told us that if we wanted the game, we had to go out and play harder,” Callihan said. “We had nothing to lose, and he told us to leave it all out there on the field. We all played really hard because we wanted our season to go on.”

Despite the Hawks’ resurgence, the Colonels found the all-important second goal. Callaham’s dangerous outswinging corner from the right sailed over the reach of a leaping Hackney, and Woznak made no mistake with her point-blank header.

“Sarah played a perfect corner to me,” Woznak said. “I was unmarked and I just headed it in. It was awesome.”

Bizarrely, Skyline nearly grabbed a goal of its own on a virtual replay of Woznak’s goal just two minutes later. A corner kick from Callihan evaded the grasp of Messer and somehow found its way through to Amanda Bates, but the midfielder was unable to get a touch on the bouncing ball at the far post.

The Hawks pulled a goal back with just seven minutes left when Messer could only parry a Brittney Brogan shot into the path of Callihan, who could not miss from four yards out.

That strike set up a tense final few minutes for the James Wood faithful, but the Colonels were able to hold on and run out the clock to advance.

Despite the daunting task of facing the district’s top team on Saturday, James Wood heads into the matchup with plenty of confidence.

“We definitely want to win,” Callaham said. “We know Sherando is a great team, but we will be giving 100 percent out there.”

“We know that when we play Sherando, we’ve got to play a lot better than we did today,” Carden added. “And I think we will.”