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The Rockbridge County High School boys soccer team suffered a pair of nondistrict losses in its opening week, coming up short 2-0 at Fort Defiance on Thursday evening before falling 7-0 at home against Staunton on Friday.
Ashton Barrett and Marc Geffrard scored two goals apiece as the Storm cruised in their first game of the season. John Lindberg made 12 saves in goal for RC, which fell to 0-2.
The Wildcats, who finished 3-13-1 last spring, graduated eight seniors from their roster, led by all-district second team defender and midfielder Seamus Looney and goalkeeper Zach Bean. However, RC returns a pair of all-district selections, current seniors Cole Boller-Pinkham and Brian Kendall, who were both named to the second team in 2022.
On Friday, the ’Cats struggled all night with the size and speed of Staunton. The Storm dominated possession for most of the game, putting together a 32-4 advantage in shots and a 5-0 edge in corner kicks.
“It seems like all their players are 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds. They’re fast; they’re a very good team; they’re skilled,” said RC head coach Scott Youngdahl, who is starting his sixth season at the helm of the program. “There’s a very big gap, and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Barrett notched his brace inside the opening 10 minutes as Staunton took command early. His first goal came in the fifth minute, when a mishit clearance struck the goal frame and fell right to the Storm player for an easy finish.
It was an ominous start for the Wildcats. “We had an unforced error, where a guy cleared it, and it hit off our own crossbar right to their guy,” Youngdahl said.
Barrett doubled the Staunton lead five minutes later, pouncing on a long through ball and finishing on a lightning-quick counter.
The Wildcats responded with their best stretch of the game, stringing together some passes and putting pressure on the Staunton back line. But RC couldn’t quite find the final product, failing to produce any attempts on target.
In the 30th minute, Geffrard picked the ball off a Wildcat defender 25 yards from goal, dribbled in and finished for a 3-0 lead. Shortly before halftime, Harri Wallace collected a long chip pass from William Cormier and fired home from close range to make it 4-0.
Staunton maintained control of the contest throughout a rainy second half. Geffrard squeezed his second goal inside the near post from a tight angle on the right side in the 51st minute.
The Storm added a pair of late markers to complete the rout. Darwin De La O Mencia converted on a long pass from midfield in the 71st minute, and Walker Darby put home Agustin Miguel’s dragged-back pass from the byline just two minutes before the final whistle.
Lindberg’s play was certainly a bright spot for the Wildcats. The junior keeper made several impressive saves, including a sliding stop on Andrew Efird and a fingertip parry on the same Storm player’s curling shot in the first half.
“Lindberg, he has some crazy reflexes,” Youngdahl said. “He also spent a season wrestling and really got into good shape… His punts are getting better. Everything about his game is getting better because he’s quicker.”
FD 2, RC 0
Fort Defiance defeated the visiting Wildcats 2-0 in RC’s first regularseason game on Thursday.
Youngdahl thought his squad was competitive against the Indians, and he said that both Fort goals were “self-inflicted wounds.”
Lindberg recorded six saves for the Wildcats. And RC created some quality opportunities of its own in the attacking third – including freekick chances for Boller-Pinkham and a breakaway for Evan Roney – but the Wildcats were unable to convert.
“We had a couple of good looks on goal, but just couldn’t put anything on frame,” Youngdahl said. “We’ve just got to show a little bit more composure around the ball.”
RC has two more chances to earn its first win of the season this week. The Wildcats were slated to take on Fort in the return match in Lexington last night, and they’ll play host to James River on Friday. The Wildcats will start next week at Stuarts Draft on Monday. Both nights will begin with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m.
