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The Rockbridge County High School girls soccer team split a pair of nondistrict games with Stuarts Draft last week, earning a 1-0 home win last Monday before falling 2-0 at Stuarts Draft on Thursday.
Last Monday’s win was the RC’s third consecutive win. With the victory, the Wildcats (3-3) eclipsed their win total last year. Last spring, RC went 2-14.
Abby Hickman netted the lone goal for the Wildcats off a crossing assist from Sophie Vaught. The Wildcats also relied heavily upon their junior goalkeeper Sophia Perlozzo, who made six saves and several clearances.
In what was a back-and-forth game, with both teams having several good opportunities to score, RC head coach B.J. Flack said he was proud of his team’s performance.
“They’ve turned a corner attitude wise,” Flack said. “There is just this belief that you can do this, that you can see this through.”
Stuarts Draft (2-1), which earned two 2-1 victories over the Wildcats last year, entered both halves of Monday’s game hot, winning the majority of the possessions and scoring chances. However, the Wildcats were able to endure the pressure and ended up missing some promising scoring chances of their own hitting the post twice.
Pleased that his team’s efforts are finally paying off with wins, Flack said, “They understand how to dig in when maybe things aren’t going the best for you, but still be able to get a result. And that hasn’t happened over the last couple years.”
SD 2, RC 0
Stuarts Draft defeated the visiting Wildcats 2-0 on Thursday.
The Cougars scored on the last kick of the first half and again midway through the second half.
Flack said the Wildcats actually defended better on Thursday than they did in Monday’s game. “We simply shut off on those two moments, and Stuarts Draft finished them well.”
Perlozzo made two saves for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats had their offense working well, but they weren’t able to score. “We had quite a few good opportunities to score, but were never able to convert,” said Flack.
“Moving forward, after spring break, we’ll continue to work on our attacking ideas and being consistent on defending for the full 80 minutes,” added Flack.
The Wildcats were scheduled to play host to James River on Friday, but that game was postponed to Monday, May 15.
After spring break this week, the Wildcats will return to action with home games on Monday against Staunton and on Tuesday with the Valley District opener against Harrisonburg. Both nights will start with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m.
