RCHS Upset Bid Falls Just Shy

The Rockbridge County High School boys soccer team lost its final four games of the season last week, playing twice at home and twice on the road.

Last Monday, the Wildcats put together one of their best performances of the year in a 2-1 senior night loss to Valley District heavyweight Turner Ashby. RC also fell 4-0 at Rocktown and 5-0 at Staunton before returning home to close out the year with a 3-1 setback against Broadway.

RC finishes up the season with a 2-14 overall record and a 1-13 mark in district play.

But the Wildcats gave the Knights all they could handle on Monday of last week, leveling the score on a beautiful set-piece goal from Gene Kahler before ultimately succumbing to TA (15-2 overall, 12-2 district).

RC head coach Jeff Tomlin was pleased with his team’s intensity and execution as they honored the senior class of Kahler, Yusuf Aliyev, Bryce Bell, Ethen Camden, Noah Carroll, Paul Drumbl, Oscar Kosky, Eliot McDonald and Juan Rodriguez.

“We have a lot of seniors who have played a lot of games for this program, and they deserved that effort,” Tomlin said.

The teams played to a stalemate through the first half despite a 15-3 advantage in shots for the Knights. McDonald made eight of his 13 saves before the break, including key stops on close-range efforts from Bennett Wilburn and Lucas Picado inside the first 20 minutes and a save on Daniel Hernandez’s dipping 20yard strike in the 29th.

The Wildcats’ lone quality chance before the break came in the 36th minute, when Cooper Fox was denied by TA goalkeeper Isaac Arenas.

But the second half was an entirely different story, as RC put together long spells of possession and at times seemed to have the Knights back on their heels. The Wildcats easily could have taken the lead in the 61st minute, only to see Arenas make an expert save on Carroll’s attempt from the right side of the box.

TA still managed to create several chances of its own, and Hernandez put the visitors in front in the 63rd minute, wriggling free inside the penalty area and delivering a tidy finish.

RC had an immediate answer after winning a free kick just outside the 18-yard box on the left side. Carroll laid the ball off to Kahler, who delivered a stunning left-footed finish that curled inside the back post.

“The goal is something we had worked on, that kind of set piece,” Tomlin said. “Gene has a wand of a left foot. … That curl from the left foot off the right side, it’s a really hard ball to judge.”

While the Wildcats had opportunities to take the lead, the Knights ended up snatching the winning goal with a 75th-minute winner. Ayden Van Horn made a great run up the left side and set the table for Wilburn’s decisive finish.

Although the ’Cats couldn’t quite secure a result, Tomlin had plenty of positives to take from the way his team competed against one of the top squads in the district.

“I think we came close to the win, and I think we were the better team on the field – but that’s how soccer goes,” the RC coach said. “Sometimes it just falls the other way.”

Rocktown 4, RC 0

Valley District leaders Rocktown defeated RC 4-0 in Harrisonburg last Tuesday.

Patrick De Marcellus started in goal for the Wildcats and made seven saves, while Jacob Wallace came off the bench for the final 15 minutes and registered four stops. Carroll and Kahler each had one shot on goal for RC against the Raptors (15-1-1, 13-0-1).

Staunton 5, RC 0 Staunton defeated the visiting Wildcats 5-0 in a non-district match last Wednesday.

McDonald recorded five stops for RC, while Wallace notched a pair of saves as a late-match substitute in goal.

Broadway 3, RC 1

Broadway defeated RC 3-1 in the Wildcats’ season finale in Lexington on Friday.

The Gobblers (6-11-1, 4-9-1) scored the first three goals of the game before Kahler pulled one back on a penalty kick in the second half. McDonald made six saves.

While RC only secured two victories on the season, Tomlin – the interim coach who took over one game into the season, following the resignation of Michael Kelly – was pleased with the progress that his team made as the Wildcats adapted to a possession-based style of soccer. And RC was more competitive than its record indicated, with seven of the ’Cats’ 14 defeats coming by just one or two goals.

“Overall, I’m really happy with how the kids bought into everything,” Tomlin said. “The effort was always there in the matches. The blocks for a new culture are being placed.”