Boys Soccer Now 8-4 After Rout Of Gap
The Rockbridge County High School boys soccer team overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit, going on to record a 3-2 win over Stuarts Draft in a Shenandoah District matchup in Lexington on Tuesday of last week.
The Wildcats also picked up a resounding 8-0 victory at Buffalo Gap on Thursday, improving to 8-4, both overall and within the district.
In last Tuesday’s match, Charlie Cosgriff’s 74th-minute winner capped off an impressive comeback from RC, which had also beaten the Cougars 3-2 on the road back on April 2. Parker Fountain and Jonathan Soriano Caceres scored earlier in the second half as the ’Cats showed some serious grit after falling behind.
“We had to be resilient … against a really tough Stuarts Draft team,” RC head coach Jeffrey Tomlin said. “I don’t think all the results show it, but they are a very tough team; they have very talented players.”
The Cougars (5-7-1 overall, 4-7 district) dominated long stretches of the opening stanza. Ezra Carter headed Draft in front on a corner kick in the third minute, and Jaime Loya converted on a breakaway chance shortly before halftime.
The visitors’ lead might have been larger than 2-0 at the break if not for some good goalkeeping from Patrick De Marcellus, who made five stops in the first half – including a fantastic double save on chances from Luca Lolandes and Kieran Owen in the 31st minute.
RC sliced the Cougars’ advantage in half in the 53rd minute, when Fountain delivered a beautiful 30-yard strike off of a feed from Jonathan Roy.
The tenor of the match seemed to change after that goal, as the Wildcats found the energy to get back into the contest. Soriano generated the equalizer midway through the period, stealing the ball from a Draft defender in the back third and firing home to make it 2-2.
The Wildcats then found a winner with just over six minutes to go, as Cosgriff converted from close range off of a long ball into the box from Brennan Roeder.
“It was pretty lifeless until Parker got that heck of a shot from probably well outside the box,” Tomlin said. “What changed after that was we had the belief to press harder. … When you get within one goal of them, then you have that belief to say, ‘I’m gonna press, and I’m gonna win the ball.’” For the match, the Cougars held a 23-11 advantage in shots – though most of Draft’s later chances were off target; Jacob Wallace took over as goalkeeper for the Wildcats in the second half and had just one save to make. Logan Moody played the full 80 minutes in goal for the Cougars and registered four stops.
RC 8, BG 0
Cosgriff racked up two goals and five assists as RC rolled past Buffalo Gap 8-0 in Swoope two nights later.
Fountain and Roy each contributed two goals and one helper, while Dante Kelly and Cooper Fox also scored – marking the 15th goal of the year for Fox – as the Wildcats completed a season sweep of the Bison (0-12 overall and district). RC also beat Gap by an 8-0 scoreline at home on April 6.
It was quite the week for Cosgriff, going from the late matchwinner against Draft to seven goal involvements against Gap.
“He’s been our most involved player this season in terms of goals,” Tomlin said of the junior midfielder. “When he’s on the ball, he’s so direct and creative.”
RC was slated to play host to Wilson Memorial on Tuesday. The Wildcats will travel to Riverheads on Thursday before taking on Fort Defiance at The Fields at Southern Virginia University in Buena Vista next Tuesday, with the location change due to the installation of artificial turf on the Wildcat’s home field. They’ll conclude the regular season next Wednesday, May 20. All three nights are scheduled to start with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m., followed by the varsity games at 7.
