The Patrick Henry Patriots cruised to another Western Valley District tournament title with a 7-0 thrashing of E.C. Glass Friday night.
The margin of victory was a bit of a surprise, considering the Hilltoppers had just dismantled William Fleming 7-0 in the tournament semifinals. But the Patriots, (18-1) jumped all over their opponent early, and by halftime the outcome had all but been decided.
“I was really pleased with the way we came out and played early,” boys soccer Head Coach Chris Dowdy said. “We knew they were going to come in fired up, but we responded really well.”
Cameron Chavira led the Patriots with 4 goals, three of which came in the first half. Fayanga Keita tallied a pair of goals as well.
Things weren’t nearly as easy for the Patriots in their Northwest Regional tournament quarterfinal matchup against Forest Park High School.
The Bruins scored in the first minute of the match – only the third time all season that the Patriots have trailed – and had another goal called off at the end of the first half. Another Chavira goal knotted up the score, and a scoreless second half led to sudden death overtime.
In the overtime, a 35-yard strike by outside midfielder Nick Lasky sent Patrick Henry into the semifinals. It was the first regional win in school history for the soccer program.
The Patriots hosted Osbourn Park (from Manassas) Wednesday night. With a victory, the team would host the Northwest Region final Friday evening, as well as clinch a berth in the VHSL Group AAA state tournament.
Colonels Fall to EC Glass: William Fleming’s boys soccer season ended with a thud last Thursday, with a 7-0 loss to E.C. Glass in the Western Valley District semifinals. “I think we maybe downplayed how good of a team E.C. Glass is,” Head Coach Landon Moore said. “They really jumped on us, and we made some mistakes, and they made us pay.” The Colonels finish the season with a record of 8-5-2.
“It’s still definitely been a great season, and there was a lot we accomplished,” Moore said. “It’s just really disappointing how it ended.”
Knights’ Season Over: The Cave Spring High School Knights saw a sudden end to their boys soccer season Tuesday evening, falling 2-0 to Martinsville in the Region IV quarterfinals. The Knights (12-4-2) lost two of their final three games. They were upset 2-1 by Pulaski in the River Ridge District semifinals, but held on to defeat Christiansburg, 1-0, to earn a berth in the region tournament.
