Jones Surpasses 50-Goal Mark For Career
The Rockbridge County High School girls soccer team won a pair of Valley District games last week, earning its first home win of the season by defeating Broadway 4-0 last Tuesday and picking up a 3-2 road win over Spotswood on Friday.
With the victories, the Wildcats improved to 5-3-0, both overall and in the district.
Against Broadway (5-3-2 overall, 4-3-1 district), the Wildcats applied balanced scoring and strong defense and recorded their third shutout of the season. RC got a goal each from Lucy Boller-Pinkham, Madelyn Jones, Lydia Kendall and Sofia Smith.
Boller-Pinkham kicked in the first goal about 14 1/2 minutes into the game, and she assisted on a breakaway goal by Kendall just over a minute later. The Wildcats kept on the attack and maintained their 2-0 lead for the rest of the half.
In the second half, the Wildcats extended their lead to 3-0 about 15 minutes in when Smith kicked in a goal, on an assist from Boller-Pinkham, from Broadway goalkeeper Andria Davis’s left side. In the closing minutes of the game, Jones scored the final goal of the game from Davis’s right side.
Pleased with his team’s performance, RC head coach Danny Wheeler said, “Our team was very quick to make adjustments tonight, a little slow out of the gate, but then there’s a trend. Once we score that first goal, we’re very quick to follow with the second.”
Wheeler said his players made some adjustments with direction from coaches, but they also took the lead on making adjustments. “Self-development has come a long way,” he said.
RC sophomore goalkeeper Caden Marshall played the entire game, making eight saves to earn the shutout.
Wheeler said his team is working on improving movement with the ball, but he likes the progress he’s seen. “A focal point in moving forward is passing to feet and moving quicker to receive the pass, but the communication to coordinate in the shifts and transitions, much improved,” he said.
RC 2, Spotswood 1
RC senior forward Madelyn Jones scored her 50th and 51st career goals, and the Wildcats earned a 3-2 road win over Spotswood to sweep the regularseason series for the first time in recent history.
When the teams met on April 8 in Lexington, the Wildcats won 3-1. Last year, RC and Spotswood split the season series.
O n Friday, Boller-Pinkham set the tone by scoring in the first minute, and Jones scored later in the first half to extend RC’s lead to 2-0. Jones scored again in the second half, making it 3-0.
The Trailblazers (2-7-1, 1-5-1) didn’t fold, though, scoring on a penalty kick and then putting in a late goal before the clock expired.
In goal, Marshall made one save for the Wildcats.
Wheeler was following the game remotely because he was out of town for his son’s college graduation, so assistant coach Carrie Dietz guided the Wildcats.
“The team played well as a complete unit, and there’s always room for improvement,” said Wheeler. “One of the areas for me to focus on now is having a consistent, strong 80 minutes.”
The Wildcats were scheduled to play host to William Monroe last night and will continue district action at home against Harrisonburg on Friday, starting with the junior varsity game at 5:30 p.m., with the varsity game scheduled to follow at 7. RC will play host to district rival East Rockingham on Tuesday, with the varsity game only at 5:30 p.m., preceding the 7 p.m. boys’ varsity game between the two schools.
WILDCAT BROOKE Eichelberger dribbles the ball down the field while senior teammate Sofia Smith keeps up with her. Smith scored a goal in RC’s 4-0 win over Broadway. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
RC SOPHOMORE midfielder Emily Jones maintains possession of the ball while Broadway’s Vicky Kidd guards her. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
