Staunton Shuts Out RC Boys

Staunton Shuts Out RC Boys, 5-0

The Rockbridge County High School boys soccer team suffered a 5-0 home loss to Staunton on Thursday in Lexington.

The Wildcats (1-8-0) fell behind 2-0 in the first half, and held the Storm (10-1-1) scoreless for most of the second half, with strong goalkeeping by Eliot McDonald, backed up by extra pressure from RC’s defense. However, Staunton scored three goals in the final 17 minutes, on a header, a kick and a penalty shot.

With the win, Staunton completed a sweep of the regular-season series with RC. When the teams met on March 15 in Staunton, the Storm also won by a score of 5-0.

Reflecting on his team’s performance, RC head coach Michael Kelly said, “I know we weren’t a threat offensively because we’re still trying to sort out the midfield. We’re trying to gain possession, but I don’t know what happened. Our defense today was not strong. Physically, I think we hung with them. We definitely didn’t take as many shots as I wanted.”

The first goal was an own goal. “That should never have happened, so that’s a mental mistake on our part,” said Kelly.

“I knew we were gonna lose, but the effort was there,” he continued. “You could start to see we were starting to build something and understand. Hopefully, they can build on that in the summer and fall, and when spring comes around again, we’ll have another step up.”

RC was scheduled to play at Spotswood last Friday, but that game was rescheduled to Monday due to inclement weather. The Wildcats were scheduled to play host to Turner Ashby last night and will have two more home games this week, against nondistrict rival Salem on Thursday and against Valley District rival William Monroe on Friday.

RC will continue district action against Broadway on Tuesday before concluding the regular season at home against district rival East Rockingham next Thursday, May 16. All nights will start with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m. The Wildcats entered this week at 1-6-0 in the district, with their lone win so far coming in a 3-1 home win over Broadway on April 19.