WINCHESTER — The Millbrook High School boys’ soccer team enjoyed having four players contribute to its four-goal game against Sherando on Friday.
The Pioneers aren’t going to complain if one person accounts for all the scoring in a four-goal game, though. And no one was surprised by who was responsible for that on Tuesday.
Millbrook junior forward Ian Melnikoff scored twice in the first six minutes to put the Pioneers up for good, iced the win by scoring with five minutes left, and had a penalty-kick goal in between as the Pioneers defeated host James Wood 4-2 on at Kelican Stadium.
Pioneers coach Rhonda Cottino said after the win against Sherando that Melnikoff was going to have a target on his back after scoring 20 goals last year. Opponents obviously know where Melnikoff is on the field, but even increased attention can only do so much against a target who targets the goal as well as Melnikoff.
Melnikoff now has seven goals for the 3-0 Pioneers, with his last on Tuesday a shot along the ground from just inside the 18 that made it 4-2.
“I just love the challenge,” said Melnikoff when asked about the attention he receives from defenses while wearing his white and blue No. 10 jersey. “I love when I’m back there, and everybody’s just saying, ‘Get on 10, get on 10, get on 10.’ It just motivates me more to do what I do, and that’s help my team to score goals.”
The only player in the area to score more goals last year than Melnikoff — James Wood senior forward Brayden Pineda (22) — scored both of the Colonels’ goals and nearly tied the game at 3-3 on a direct kick in the 68th minute, but his strike hit the crossbar.
Melnikoff’s first two goals were the result of shots taken near the top of the 18 as well, and both shots had plenty of pace. Evan Gong played the ball along the ground to Melnikoff for the first goal on the right side, and Melnikoff collected a pass on the left side of the penalty box less than a minute later from Shawn Nathan Fameni before firing the ball into the back of the net.
“Ian’s got a target on his back there, and Brayden’s got a target on his back over there,” Cottino said. “We needed to get on the board early, because I knew at some point Brayden was probably going to find the back of the net tonight.
“Just glad to be the first ones on the board today, and that’s credit to Ian and the people who are working hard off the ball to get him the ball in the final third.”
James Wood — which hasn’t beaten Millbrook since 2021 — broke up its pre-game huddle with first-year head coach Chris Johnson by saying in unison, “End the streak.” But the Colonels couldn’t match the Pioneers’ intensity at the start.
“Every single game we’ve gone into this season, we have so much hype,” Melnikoff said. “We want to play so good as a team, and it just motivates us every single time.”
Johnson said the Colonels are counting on a lot of first-year varsity players, and their inexperience in a rivalry game might have played a role in the way James Wood started the contest.
“A little bit of nerves,” Johnson said. “We have a lot of guys who haven’t played at the varsity level yet. A lot of guys who haven’t played together. It just takes us a little time to get our sea legs. But I think once they did it, our guys looked really good.”
It was an evenly played game the last 74 minutes after the first six suggested the Pioneers might dominate. Milbrook had a 13-12 shot advantage over that time, with Ivan Cruz making three saves for the Colonels and Brandt Upson two for the Pioneers.
“I thought we had a lot of good through balls,” Johnson said. “I thought we figured out the weak spots and the opportunities to try and find a goal. I thought we did that well.
“We sent the ball a little too early a lot. I think we just kicked the ball too long, playing kickball. I know that’s something we’ve done in the past, and we’re trying to delete that from our repertoire.”
In the 26th minute, Pineda beat a defender with his dribble along the right end line, cut in and scored with a shot a few yards away that went inside the right post to make it 2-1 Pioneers. That score stood up until halftime.
Millbrook took a 3-1 lead just three minutes into the second half. Fameni was sent to the ground after surging into his box with the ball at his feet. Melnikoff was tabbed to take the penalty kick, and he buried his shot into the left side of the net.
In the 52nd minute, Pineda collected the ball on the left side with his back to the goal. He dribbled toward the middle and fired the ball inside the far right post from about 15 yards away o again bring James Wood within a goal at 3-2.
Johnson was impressed with Pineda, just as he’s been all year in his first season coaching him.
“He’s a super great kid,” said Johnson, who moved to Winchester last year after previously coaching in southwest Virginia. “I think he’s a leader on and off the field with these guys, and I’m grateful for that. He has such heart and wants to win games.”
Pineda almost put James Wood in position to do that with his free kick from the left side in the 68th minute from 25 yards out. Pineda went left with his kick, and the ball clanged off the crossbar.
James Wood continued to push from there, but the Pioneers’ defense tightened up. Millbrook would not allow another Colonel shot, and Melnikoff scored the insurance goal after James Wood turned the ball over in its defensive third. Melnikoff said Gong played the ball ahead to him, and Melnikoff was able to free up space for himself near the top of the 18.
James Wood’s next game will be a major challenge — the Colonels host Handley at 7 p.m. on Friday — but Johnson is looking forward to continuing to build with the Colonels.
“[The seniors] have bought into the new culture that we’re setting, and I’m excited about it,” he said. “It’s an honor to be able to coach these guys.”
Millbrook will travel to Liberty on Friday.
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com
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