RC Girls Soccer Goes 2-1

The Rockbridge County High School girls soccer team earned a pair of Valley District home wins last week, defeating Harrisonburg 4-0 last Monday and cruising to an 8-0 win over East Rockingham last Tuesday. The Wildcats then suffered a 7-0 road loss to Harrisonburg on Friday.

In Monday’s game against Harrisonburg (4-3-0 overall, 4-2-0 district), Madelyn Jones, who led RC with two goals, opened the scoring for the Wildcats (3-5-0, 3-3-0), followed by teammate Lydia Kendall’s successful penalty kick to make it 2-0. RC’s Lucy Boller-Pinkham scored a goal from the right corner into the top left of the net, securing a 3-0 halftime lead.

The Blue Streaks emerged from halftime with greater aggression and moved the ball into their offensive territory for much of the second half. Just 16 minutes remained when Jones struck again to score the final goal of the game on an assist from Sofia Smith.

RC goalkeeper Sophia Perlozzo made 12 saves, while the Wildcats took 13 shots on Harrisonburg’s goal.

Building on their success, the Wildcats coasted to their third consecutive win by defeating East Rockingham 8-0 on Tuesday of last week in Lexington.

Jones netted the first two goals of the game and set the pace for her team’s performance. After Kendall scored a goal, the Wildcats held a commanding 3-0 lead by halftime, leaving the Eagles (0-10-1, 0-7-1) struggling to find a foothold in the game.

The second half saw no respite for the Eagles. Less than five minutes into the half, Madelyn Jones struck again, extending the Wildcats’ lead to 4-0. Emily Jones and Lucy Boller-Pinkham joined in on the scoring frenzy, with Emily scoring the fifth goal and Boller-Pinkham adding two more.

With less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, Boller-Pinkham’s third and final goal triggered the mercy rule, bringing the game to an early conclusion.

Perlozzo made four crucial saves to secure another clean sheet for the team. The Wildcats shot 23 times on goal.

Pleased with the Wildcats’ performance, RC head coach Danny Wheeler said, “The team exhibited endurance, having won a physical battle against a highly competitive Harrisonburg the night before.”

Wheeler said the skills the players had worked on in practice were on display. He said the team shifted well, despite having players out due to injury.

“The team came together with communication,” Wheeler said. “The keys to our success are speed and quality of play.”

Wheeler said speed and communication have been focal points for the Wildcats this season, and they’ve honed these skills in practice.

On Friday at Harrisonburg, the Wildcats suffered a 7-0 loss. Perlozzo made seven saves for RC.

Today, Wednesday, the Wildcats will have a junior varsity home game against nondistrict rival Staunton at 5:30 p.m. On Thursday, the Wildcats will play at Staunton, starting with JV action at 5:30 p.m., with the varsity game scheduled for 7 p.m. The Wildcats will return to district action at home against Spotswood on Friday before playing at Turner Ashby on Tuesday, and they’ll play host to TA next Wednesday, May 8. All three nights will start with JV action at 5:30 p.m., with the varsity games scheduled for 7 p.m.