Women's Soccer: Wilson Memorial Blank Stuart Draft
FISHERSVILLE — Wilson Memorial took an early lead and never relinquished it in a Shenandoah District game Friday night, keeping the girls soccer season undefeated and defeating Stuarts Draft 4-0.
Less than eight minutes into the game, Wilson's Bree Kindig scored off a shot from Adélie Condra, the only points of the first half by either team. The Hornets scored two goals in the first four minutes of the second half, one by Draft's own goal and the other by Logan Hoover, to tie the game. Freshman Maggie Parrott added the winning goal on a penalty kick.
After the game, Wilson's first-year coach Brandon Fern told his team that they did a great job of keeping the ball in the offensive half of the field. This is something the Hornets have been working on, and Fern thought it came together Friday night.
“It makes it a little bit easier to hold the ball in the defensive half because the other team can step back a little bit,” Fearne said. “We wanted a hybrid tonight, where we can keep the ball in the defensive half and play calmly, but when we bring it into the attacking half, we don’t have to just go for the goal. “Can it wait?'' Is the right opportunity? ”
Fern liked the perseverance his team showed Friday as the Hornets completed the first Shenandoah District cycle with a win that improved Wilson to 8-0-1 overall and 6-0 in district play. Wilson defeated district opponents 33-1.
“The other thing we can improve on is through balls into the final third, which you saw there,” Fearne said. “That's what I'm looking for. Are they starting to understand it in the moment? If you're patient in the attacking half, you start to see what the other team is doing and you start to adjust. We can do it. That's what we've been working on all week. ”
This is Fern's first season as a head coach, but he coached many of the current Wilson players in travel ball when they were younger. Fern, a 2014 graduate of Wilson Memorial University, spent some time as a coach at Montana State before returning to Virginia. He took over a successful team that won a regional title and made it to the Class 3 state semifinals a year ago.
Fern wants to repeat his postseason success and is happy with how his team is doing this year. The coach said he was never dissatisfied with being undefeated in mid-April, but said he was always looking for improvement.
“Undefeated or not, I'm always looking to see if the football is progressing,” Fern said. “I think the first few games were very competitive, but once we got through that hump, I felt like we were more calm and were able to stick to our plan.”
Wilson has a week off before playing next Friday at Fort Defiance. The Stuarts draft falls to 6-3 on the season and will face Fort Defiance on Tuesday.
Softball: Riverheads beat Buffalo Gap.
SWOOPS — Cheyenne Bottenfield pitched seven innings of three-run ball and had eight strikeouts to help the Riverheads win over Buffalo Gap in a Shenandoah District softball game on Friday.
With the win, the Gladiators improved to 4-4 on the year and 3-1 in district play.
Despite two home runs and four strong innings pitched by Caroline Alger, Gap was unable to maintain a 2-1 lead going into the fifth inning. That's when the Riverheads broke open, scoring five runs in the top of the fifth inning to take their first lead of the night and never relinquished the lead.
The Riverheads had seven hits on the night, including a solo home run by Ella Galford. The senior's outburst occurred in the fourth inning, and the game was tied at 1-1. Gap scored back in the bottom of the inning before the fifth inning when the Riverheads won big.
Bottenfield scattered seven hits to lead to the win.
Women's tennis: Riverheads rally to beat the draft
STUARTS DRAFT — The Riverheads lost in two sets in the singles portion of the Shenandoah District girls tennis match against Stuarts Draft on Thursday night.
However, the Gladiators bounced back in doubles, winning three sets and winning 5-4, giving Riverheads their third straight victory. The Gladiators are currently 7-4 overall and 5-2 in district play.
single:
Makara Hollinger (R) def. Bethany Stevens 8-2 Rachel Liu (SD) def. Brenna Collins 8-4 Chloe Truslow (SD) def. Madison Catlett 8-5 Abby Piner (R) def. Zoa Barnes 8-1 Isabel Fitzpatrick (SD) def. Naya Patel 8-1 Anaya Johnson (SD) def. Machi Eppard 8-4
Doubles:
Hollinger/Collins (R) def. Stevens/Truslow 8-3 Catlett/Pinner (R) def. Liu/Burns 8-6 Patel/Eppard (R) def. Fitzpatrick/Johnson 8-5
athlete of the week
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— Patrick Hite is the News-Leader's education reporter. Story ideas and tips are always welcome.Contact Patrick (he/him/him) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick Hite. Subscribe at newsleader.com.