Salem Shuts Out Wildcats In Soccer

The Rockbridge County High School girls soccer team suffered a 6-0 home loss to Salem in the season opener on Tuesday of last week in Lexington.

The Wildcats kept the nondistrict game close early, only conceding one first-half goal from a defensive mistake, despite facing eight shots on target. Senior goalkeeper Sophia Perlozzo notched 14 saves for the Wildcats.

The game remained 1-0 until the 21st minute, when the Spartans doubled their advantage, but the Wildcats created more offense in the second half, doubling their shots on target and tripling their total shots taken.

First-year RC head coach Danny Wheeler called the game a “building block” for the rest of the year. “That change begins tonight,” he said, emphasizing a need for greater communication going forward and “thinking about the team.”

The Wildcats were scheduled to play host to Staunton last Friday, but that game was postponed to a date to be determined due to inclement weather.

Stepping into the head coaching role for the first time, Wheeler replaces B.J. Flack, who coached the Wildcats for the last three years before stepping down due to extra responsibilities with his tech job. A 1986 graduate of the former Rockbridge High School in Fairfield and a 1995 graduate of Idaho State University, Wheeler is an alternative education teacher at the high school who has experience coaching junior varsity soccer and track. Wheeler’s assistant coaches are Carrie Dietz, Kevin Kendall and Jeffrey Tomlin, who is the head coach for the junior varsity team.

The Wildcats went 5-11-0 overall and 2-6 in the Valley District last year. RC returns eight players, led by senior co-captains Perlozzo and forward Sophie Vaught. Both players earned all-district honors last year, as did four juniors that will be expected to help guide the Wildcats: defender Madeline Swisher and midfielders Brooke Eichelberger, Madelyn Jones and Lydia Kendall. Also returning are senior defender Nellie Orrison and junior Sofia Smith, a midfielder and defender. RC has four seniors, eight juniors and two freshmen.

The Wildcats will return to action on Friday when they play at Staunton. After spring break the first week of April, they’ll start Valley District action at Spotswood on Tuesday, April 9. Both nights will start with JV action at 5:30 p.m.