Girl's Soccer

April 22, 2011

By Robert Stocks       

WINCHESTER- When a give-and-go play between Cindy Quarles and Myrina Booker left Booker practically within arm's reach of the goal, the Judges' senior midfielder thought she didn't have much of a chance at scoring.

Her first instinct was to pass, but she decided at the last second to take the shot anyway.

The result proved that when Quarles and Booker are on the field working together, then Handley always has a shot.

Booker blasted a low shot by James Wood goalkeeper Kaleigh Fincham to the near post midway through the first half, and the Judges notched their fifth shutout of the season, a 1-0 Northwestern District win over James Wood at Jerry L. Kelican Stadium Thursday night.

On the winning goal, Booker passed off to Quarles near the top of the 18-yard box, and then Booker made a nice run toward the near post where Quarles found her just to the right of the post for her fourth goal of the season.

"I called for the through ball, and I knew that [Cindy] would give it to me," Booker said. "But the angle that I was at, I was like, 'There's no way I could get a goal from it, but I'm going to rip it anyway.'

"It wasn't a good angle for a shot. I should have dropped it off at the top, but I just decided, 'I'm going to take this.' I just thought about keeping it low and on the ground, and that's what I did. It slipped past the keeper's fingers."

Booker's goal, coming off Quarles' team-leading fifth assist, in the 24th minute staked Handley (7-2-1, 3-0) to a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

Judges coach John Lynch said the goal was the product of precise execution between two of his returning first team all-district players.

"It was a nice set up," Lynch said. "It's kind of the same thing we've been talking about all season - just playing to feet. Making space and when they open up space you play the long ball. It worked to our advantage where [James Wood] opened up some things and Myrina was able to take a great shot and finish strong."

And the Judges' defense showed its strength, making that goal stand up for the team's second shutout in as many days. (Handley beat Sherando 2-0 Wednesday.)

The Colonels (3-3-2, 1-2-1) held a slight shooting edge (4-3) in the first half, but Handley senior sweeper Colleen Koppenhaver fended off the majority of James Wood's runs at the net.

"We knew we would have to stay tight to our marks and shut them down," said Judges goalkeeper Holly Ogilvie, who made seven saves. "We cleared the ball whenever there was danger, and if not we had a save.

"We're pretty confident in our defense. We've had injuries that have put other people in there, but we've stayed strong."

The Judges outshot James Wood 8-2 in the second half. Handley created a pair of dangerous chances in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but Fincham (eight saves) made the stop both times.

Handley midfielder Tala Curry blasted a high shot that Fincham parried over the crossbar in the 43rd minute. Just three minutes later, Quarles got a step on Wood sweeper Cat Woznak, but she sent her shot right at Fincham.

Quarles' speed created a couple solid scoring chances. Perhaps Quarles' best look came midway through the second half when she sent a shot toward the far post, but Fincham made a diving stop.

"They had more chances than we did," James Wood coach Jim Carden said. "They won the 50-50 balls. They set the tone and the pace of the game.

"I think we lost 15 50-50 balls in the first half, and they forced us into a lot of bad passes. We just fizzled out [on our attack]. We'd make a bad decision or we don't make the right run."

Lynch credited his defense, led by Koppenhaver, stopper Madai Guzman and defenders Megan Martin and Anna Robinson.

"We were cycling back and supporting each other," he said. "My back four is kind of coming into their own and starting to realize how each other plays. They're clicking really well."

After splitting with the Colonels last season, the Judges find themselves alone in first place in the district.

"Last year we beat them in overtime the first time and lost to them 4-1 the second time," Booker said. "As a team I really think we put it all together and deserved to win. I think we brought our intensity. We kept our heads and stayed focused.

"Coach kept telling us, 'This isn't going to be an easy game, and you've got to do what works, so put the ball in the net.' And we did that."

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