RC Girls Soccer Team Snares First Win
With a strong all-around performance, the Rockbridge County High School soccer team defeated Valley District rival Spotswood 3-1 to earn its first win of the season on Tuesday of last week in Penn Laird.
The Wildcats improved to 1-1-0 overall and in the district. RC wasted no time, as Lucy Boller-Pinkham scored off an assist from Madelyn Jones just five minutes into the game. Just before halftime, the Trailblazers (0-4-0 overall, 0-2-0 district) scored a goal to tie the game 1-1.
The Wildcats’ second goal came six minutes into the second half when Sofia Smith scored off an assist from Lydia Kendall. Six minutes later, after RC’s Elsa Kerin-Rice was fouled in the box, Kendall scored the final goal of the game on a penalty kick.
RC attacked well throughout the night, taking 12 shots on goal, led by Boller-Pinkham with five shots. Jones had four shots on goal, while Smith took two shots, and Kendall had one shot and took five corner kicks.
Commending his team’s offense, RC head coach Danny Wheeler said the Wildcats had “great movement on the ball, as far as footwork goes. A lot of short, quick passes that were very smooth, and they were quick to turn the ball.” Wheeler added that some of his players were playing in different positions than usual.
In her second varsity game, RC sophomore goalkeeper Caden Marshall made five saves. “Caden had another great night in the net in goal,” said Wheeler. “Her saves were challenging.”
The RC coach said the Wildcats’ transitions “were quick and smooth, as well as the shifts.”
Wheeler said the Wildcats would watch film to see what areas they needed to improve on, including dribbling skills, but he said the performance on Tuesday was “a great team effort, and it was a big win. Spotswood is one of the revered teams in the district.”
The RC coach added that the Wildcats showed notable improvement from their season-opening 5-1 home loss to William Monroe the previous Friday. “We’re finding our groove,” he said. “We’re playing our game.”
The Wildcats were scheduled to play at East Rockingham on Monday before traveling to Harrisonburg last night. They’ll continue district action on Tuesday when they play host to Turner Ashby, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m.
