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Turner Ashby used a late goal to claim a 1-0 victory over Rockbridge County High School in a Valley District girls soccer match in Lexington on Friday evening.
Amelia Hughes followed up her own rebound for the match-winner in the 73rd minute to lift the Knights (45-1 overall, 2-1-0 district) to the win.
Sophia Perlozzo recorded nine saves for the Wildcats (3-7-0, 0-3-0), including a great stop on Hughes’s initial chance that was set up by Reese Secord’s diagonal through ball.
Although RC didn’t get the result that it wanted, the team showed some major progress in the back third. After conceding 22 goals in their previous three matches, the Wildcats made it difficult for TA to create quality scoring chances in Friday’s game.
“The girls, they were committed to our game plan,” RC head coach B.J. Flack said. “We dictated where they were allowed to have the soccer ball, instead of the other way around. We wanted to force them into areas that we were comfortable defending, and we did a good job with that. That’s why the game was tight.”
With the Wildcats remaining organized on defense, the first half was largely uneventful. The Knights posted eight shot attempts, but their only two on target – a soft chip and a long free kick – were easily saved by Perlozzo.
TA made some adjustments at the break, and the Knights looked more dangerous in the second period. RC’s junior goalkeeper made seven saves in the half, starting with Secord’s close-range effort in the 46th minute.
“She’s doing a great job of developing this season,” Flack said of Perlozzo. “She’s so commanding of [the penalty area]. She knows when to come out. … Her delivery of the ball’s getting better. She’s just a good athlete – fun to watch.”
Although the Wildcats couldn’t generate any shot attempts of their own, they had several forays into the attacking third. RC’s best chance of the night came in the 56th minute, when Madelyn Jones made a brilliant long run from the opposite side of midfield, cutting out to the right wing and racing into the 18-yard box – only to have her cross just miss a connection with Sophie Vaught.
Flack said his team was committed to its defensive efforts, even at the expense of providing more attacking threats.
“We had a couple of chances to take the lead,” the RC coach said. “They weren’t successful, but that’s part of it. We were more focused defensively this week after our previous couple of results.”
TA finally found the breakthrough with just over six minutes remaining. Secord’s angled pass cut right through the RC defense, and while Perlozzo made a fine save on Hughes’s initial shot, the Knight player pounced on the rebound and fired home from 10 yards out.
The Wildcats would crank up the pressure while chasing the game in the waning moments. A long, last-ditch free kick from the left touchline was controlled by TA goalie Katelyn Lough in the 80th minute as the Knights held on for the narrow road victory.
RC will hope to build off Friday’s performance as the squad hits the road for district matches against Broadway and Harrisonburg this week. After three straight lopsided defeats, the Wildcats seem to be heading in the right direction.
“I’m very happy with the result,” Flack said. “I would have liked a tie or a win, but against a quality team in the district like TA, that’s a good result for us today.”
Spotswood 8, RC 0
Three days before regrouping against TA, the Wildcats fell 8-0 on the road to Spotswood on Tuesday of last week.
The Blazers held a 2-0 lead until the closing stages of the first half, when they scored four times in the last seven minutes of the period. RC was unable to recover from such a huge halftime deficit. Spotswood ended the week at 3-6 overall and 2-1 in the district.
Perlozzo made 14 saves for the Wildcats. Flack also noted that Jones and Vaught spearheaded “some good attacking play in the first half … but [we] didn’t finish our chances.”
RC’s road date with Broadway was slated for Tuesday night. The Wildcats will travel to Harrisonburg on Friday, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m.
