RC Battles JR To Draw

Wildcats Conclude Boys Soccer Season

The Rockbridge County High School boys soccer team capped its 2023 season with a 0-0 draw at James River last Wednesday in Buchanan.

John Lindberg made five saves as the Wildcats (2-121) finished off the year by earning a point against the Knights in nondistrict action. With a loss to Glenvar on Thursday, JR would close out the regular season with a 10-5-1 record.

The clean sheet was the first of the year for RC. Head coach Scott Youngdahl praised the play of defenders Micah Mayr and Leo Decanini, as well as holding midfielder Ethen Camden, for helping to keep the Knights off the board. James River had beaten the Wildcats 4-3 in Buchanan in the initial meeting between the teams back on March 31. Last Wednesday’s game was going to be at RC, but scheduling changes due to the weather led to the move to Buchanan.

Reviewing his team’s defensive performance, Youngahl said, “We had good communication in the back line. They were trying to do long balls over the top, and once we figured that out, we just started dealing with those.”

RC also generated plenty of attacking pressure. The ’Cats’ best opportunity of the first half came from senior forward John Huss Clement, who narrowly missed the post.

But the chance of the night came in the second half, when the Wildcats earned a penalty after Cole Boller-Pinkham took a hard foul in the box. Brian Kendall’s spot kick clanged off the crossbar to keep the match scoreless.

“We really kind of dominated possession,” Youngdahl said. “We played well. We didn’t turn the ball over a lot. We attacked pretty well; we were threading some passes.”

The Wildcats will graduate seven seniors on Thursday: Boller-Pinkham, Clement, Decanini, Kendall, Emmet King-Bond, Bryan Vasqeuz-Mendez and Evan Roney.

RC battled through an injury- plagued season to post just two wins, including a 3-1 Valley District victory over Broadway at home on April 25. But while the Wildcats didn’t always get the results that they wanted, their sixthyear head coach commended his team’s spirit.

“It’s always been hard to harness everyone’s potential, and their health, and their stamina at the same time,” Youngdahl said. “The kids have become closer as a team… They’ve learned to play with more trust for one another.”