The girls finished out the regular season with a huge WIN against James River. Going into the game we new it was very important for post season play. It was the situation of win and get to play in the postseason or a loss would end the season. The first meeting with Jams River this season we fell 2-0. This time the girls got their revenge game by beating James River 1-0 which now advances us into the regional tournament!! In the first half, Nathaly Contreras Rodriguez had a quick throw in restart to Callie Harris.
Then Callie drove into the box and shot the ball into the top of the net to give us the 1-0 lead! The girls never looked back from there!!!This was a huge game for our team. Everyone really stepped up for us. Our defense was solid all night shutting down some very good offensive players from James River. Our defense consisted of Jackie Arellano Torres, Genesis Harmon, Aliza Hardy, and Elena McKenzie. We changed our defense a little going into this game and these 4 girls did a great job of carrying out our new strategy out!
Our midfield wings Nathaly Contreras Rodriguez, Yeili Urbina, and Bibiana Rojas Bautista all had an outstanding night. They followed our new strategy perfectly and really worked to make sure they were getting back on defense to be the first defender while also making sure they got up involved in the offense. In the middle of our midfield, Melissa Mize and Callie Harris both had big nights for us on the defensive and offensive side. These two did a great job of stopping James River’s dominant midfielders who like to take long shots. We did a great job of preventing the opportunities of a long shot.
This is how they scored on us both times at James River. Up top Savannah Swecker, Alisia Torres Lopez, and Ithaca Vaught all gave us very crucial minutes for our offense. All three of these players kept very high pressure on James River’s defense, and they also dropped into the midfield at times to help us defensively when we were outnumbered. Our goalie Alexis Sheffey added another shutout to the season and her impressive career! She was very active off of her line all night coming out to pick up James River’s through balls before an attacking player could get to them. She had multiple very important saves to keep the clean sheet for the night. Overall, Wednesday night was an awesome game for our girls.
There was a ton of energy on and off the field. With the win, we finished the regular season 12-4-1, which ties the most wins in a season (12). We are now the 6th seed in the region tournament and will be traveling to Abingdon on Thursday, May 28th, to play in the quarterfinals at 7:30pm. These girls have grown so much as players and individuals this season. They have accomplished so much already, and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for this team! We are not finished yet!!
A.S.P.N on The Hill 