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Turner Ashby used a pair of second-half goals to fend off the Rockbridge County High School girls soccer team for a 2-0 victory in Bridgewater onTuesday of last week.
Belinda Campos and Amelia Hughes scored after halftime as the Knights (9-6-1 overall, 6-1 district) overcame a stern challenge from the Wildcats (4-10, 1-6). Sophia Perlozzo recorded a career-high 19 saves for RC.
“Our defending was excellent – bend but not break – and we mostly kept TA on the outside and not shooting in front of our goal,” said RC head coach B.J. Flack, whose team lost 1-0 at home to the Knights on April 21. “All of the girls did their jobs very well, and we did have some good moments on attack.”
In particular, Flack praised the play of senior Maliyah Hickling for her work at the holding midfield spot.
“Maliyah Hickling … largely shut down their midfielders for most of the match,” the RC coach said. “She was fierce and really set the tone for our work rate that evening.”
TA finally broke through early in the second half on a fine individual effort from Campos, who weaved her way through the RC defense and snuck in a shot just under the crossbar.
The Knights grabbed a second goal with about 15 minutes to play. The Wildcats had changed their shape in pursuit of an equalizer, and Hughes ended up scoring on a breakaway to make it 2-0.
RC had two great scoring chances in the last 10 minutes. The ’Cats forced a key save from TA’s Katelyn Lough – who finished with three stops in the game – while Eleanor Dare shot narrowly over the bar after receiving Madelyn Jones’ cross.
Perlozzo put together an impressive performance, collecting several standard saves and a few highlight-reel stops.
“She was terrific and on fire all evening, with many of her saves being routine due to our defenders dictating the type of shots being taken – but a few of the saves were simply outstanding,” Flack said.
RC was slated to take on Broadway at home on Monday. The Wildcats will conclude the regular season by playing host to James River tonight, Wednesday, with the 5:30 p.m. junior varsity game preceding the 7 p.m. junior boys’ varsity game.
