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The Rockbridge County High School boys soccer team suffered back-to-back road defeats last week, losing 4-0 at Staunton last Monday and dropping a 5-1 decision to Harrisonburg in the Wildcats’ first Valley District match last Tuesday.
RC (1-6) entered this week on a four-match losing streak, following a 3-1 home victory over Fort Defiance back on March 21.
Last Monday, the Wildcats fell to the Storm for the second time this season. John Lindberg made 10 saves for RC, but Staunton was able to strike for two goals in each half. Staunton ended the week at 5-2.
Even though the ’Cats came up on the wrong end of the scoreline, head coach Scott Youngdahl was pleased with the way his team battled in the second go-round against Staunton. In the previous meeting, the Storm breezed to a 7-0 victory in Lexington on March 17.“ We felt good about that,” Youngdahl said of the Wildcats’ improvement in the rematch. “I think we felt pretty decent about the intensity, and coming out strong and not giving away something easy early.”
RC’s best scoring chances of the game came from Brian Kendall and Jorge Martinez Lopez, who both produced shots on target.
HHS 5, RC 1
The Blue Streaks pulled away from the Wildcats in the second half of the district opener last Tuesday.
Harrisonburg jumped in front early, but RC would equalize when Kendall played a through ball to Martinez Lopez, whose leftfooted shot from inside the 18-yard box made it 1-1.
While the Blue Streaks would grab a second goal to head into halftime up 2-1, some expert goalkeeping from Lindberg kept the Wildcats close. The junior goalkeeper totaled 16 saves in the match, including several spectacular stops in the opening stanza.
“He had a couple in the first half – two diving, fullyextended tips over the bar, a couple of leg saves, a couple of punches that were producing gasps on our bench,” Youngdahl said of Lindberg. “He really kept us in it, because Harrisonburg is a very good team.”
The Blue Streaks’ quality was on display in the second half, as they scored three more goals to secure the victory. Still, there were some positives for the Wildcats to take from the game – particularly from the first 40 minutes.
“Any little mistakes, they capitalize on,” Youngdahl said. “At the same time, we know that we were able to create opportunities. … We were able to play with a little bit more intensity and immediacy from the beginning.”
With a 2-1 loss to Spotswood on Friday, Harrisonburg ended the week at 3-2-2 overall and 1-1 in the Valley District.
RC was scheduled to play host to district rival Spotswood last night. The Wildcats will continue district action at Turner Ashby on Friday before playing host to Broadway on Tuesday, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m. on both nights.
