by Ben Dejarnette (Atlee H.S.)
DigitalSports Student Correspondent
The Lady Titans controlled the game from start to finish in a 3-0 girls soccer win over Atlee in the Central Region quarterfinals.
Cosby wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard, as Alli Greene found the net in the opening minutes of play.
“It’s always good to start out strong and set the bar for the rest of the game,” Greene said. “I feel like [the early goal] helped a lot.”
Lindsey Carnes scored the Titans’ second goal before Becca Wann sealed the deal with a late finish.
The Raiders had a fair number of chances in the second half, but struggled to keep their shots under the crossbar. The loss will be the final high-school game for Atlee’s eight seniors, including Kristin Lescalleet, who will play for the University of Richmond this fall.
Cosby, ranked No. 2 in the final DigitalSports Top 10 Poll, will now go on to face No. 6 Deep Run in the Central Region semifinals on Thursday night at Atlee.
The winner will earn a spot in the region final as well as a state tournament berth.
Atlee 0 0 – 0
Cosby 2 1 – 3
C: Greene, Carnes, Wann
Records: Atlee (16-2); Cosby (14-2)
Boys Soccer: Bald Opportunity
For sophomore Dylan Bowman, James River’s 3-1 win over Atlee in the Central Region quarterfinals had extra significance.
While the Rapids moved one step closer to the regional final, Bowman moved one step closer to losing his curly locks.
“We’ve been trying to get him to shave his head all season,” senior Chris Vonier said. “We’ve got to win tomorrow and then shave it. It’ll be a good party for us.”
With hair in tact, Bowman got the Rapids out in front with a powerful strike from the penalty spot.
James River had forced several strong saves from Atlee goalkeeper Mike McCabe before Shane Atkins’ mistimed slide tackle in the box gave Bowman the opportunity to fire home the penalty kick.
“[The first goal] is very important. It takes the stress out of it,” James River head coach Eric Schlueter said. “We’ve had a lot of trouble scoring this year, so once we get a goal in there we tend to relax a little bit and play more of our game and not panic so much.”
The Rapids kept the momentum going into halftime, as Daniel Miranian’s 26th minute goal gave the Rapids a 2-0 lead at the break.
The second half was marked by physical play from both sides, as yellow cards outnumbered goals.
Nevertheless, Jack Baxter fought his way into the score column, following up a Garrett Dayton shot to give James River its third and final goal.
Less than a minute later, Atlee was awarded a penalty kick, which Ben Anderson coolly deposited in the left corner to cap the scoring.
Bowman and James River will now advance to the Central Region semifinals to face the winner of Wednesday’s Douglas Freeman vs. Thomas Dale quarterfinal.
Though the team surely has plenty of motivation, the thought of a bald Bowman can only help.
Atlee 0 1 – 1
James River 2 1 – 3
A: Anderson
JR: Bowman, Miranian, Baxter
Saves: McCabe (A) 10; Junot (JR) 8
Records: Atlee (12-5-1); James River (14-4-1)
Processing your request, Please wait....
