Friday, May 22, 2009
Patriots perfect on pitch
Kate Norbo leads the Patrick Henry girls soccer team into the Western Valley District tourney final, while the boys score early to take control of their contest. | Both teams: Patrick Henry 3, Franklin County 0
ERIC BRADY The Roanoke Times
Patrick Henry's Kate Norbo (right) sets up in front of Franklin County's Megan Wunderlich to score the Patriots' first goal of the game on Thursday.
ERIC BRADY The Roanoke Times
Franklin County keeper Crissy Moran (left) beats Patrick Henry's Kathleen Peake to a loose ball during their Western Valley District tournament semifinal at Patrick Henry High School. The Patriots won 3-0.
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Like many evenings this spring, both the Patrick Henry boys and girls soccer teams have games tonight.
There's one significant difference: None of those games involved a trophy, whereas two will be on the line tonight.
The Patriots' boys and girls both defeated Franklin County 3-0 Thursday night to advance to the Western Valley District tournament championship games.
The Patrick Henry girls (12-4) took the field first and quickly amassed a 1-0 lead.
Senior midfielder Kate Norbo, who in the past week scored her 100th career goal in a win over George Washington and took home the prestigious B'nai B'rith Athletic and Achievement Award, scored in the 25th minute.
It was Norbo's 37th goal of the season.
Patrick Henry coach Whitney Wright did not hold back in her assessment of Norbo, whom she labeled the best player in the program's history.
"I played at Patrick Henry, and I think she is the best that I have seen come out of this area in a long time," Wright said.
Rachel Strauss and Kathleen Peake helped seal the Patriots' victory with goals in the second half.
Strauss' goal came on a blast from 30 yards out, while Norbo just missed an open net from almost 40 yards away.
After the teams traded sides at halftime, Franklin County (10-7) goalie Crissy Moran was left staring into the sun.
"I think it was definitely a factor," Wright said of the sun. "I was a keeper, so I fully understand all of the challenges of playing with the sun in your eyes."
As the sun began to set, the Patrick Henry boys took the field with their sights set on a championship berth of their own.
Cameron Chavira put the Patriots (16-1) on the board with a beautiful flick header in the 18th minute.
"I just saw it coming across and I didn't have anyone to play it to," Chavira said. "So I just flicked it on and hoped for the best. I guess a got a little bit lucky."
Devin Castillo, the sophomore keeper for Franklin County (5-12-1), held the Patriots in check for the remainder of the first half.
Castillo made a handful of saves in one-on-one breakaway situations, including three on shots from the Patriots' top scorer, Fayanga Keita.
In each of those situations, Castillo charged out to meet Keita, who led Timesland with a total of 21 goals in the regular season.
The Patriots didn't score again until Nick Lasky connected on a shot off a corner kick with less than 11 minutes left to play in the contest.
Junior midfielder Robert Bear followed with another goal almost exactly two minutes later.
Patrick Henry actually had two more shots hit the back of the net before the clock expired, but the goals were disallowed due to offsides penalties.
"We really wanted to make an effort in the second half to be more explosive and finish. Patrick Henry coach Chris Dowdy said. "I thought we did that in the last 15 minutes. We finally started shooting better."
The Patrick Henry boys win sets up a showdown with E.C. Glass tonight at 7 p.m. at Patriots Stadium.
The Patriot girls will travel to E.C. Glass for a game that will also kickoff at 7 p.m.
