Radford soccer rolls into Group A semifinals 

RADFORD — Radford’s boys and girls soccer teams earned trips just a mile up the road on Main Street with respective victories Tuesday night. The Radford boys remained undefeated on the season with a 4-0 victory over Lebanon, while the Bobcats girls cruised to an 11-0 win over John Battle in Group A state quarterfinals action at Radford High School.

The boys move on to play in the state semifinals at Radford University on Friday at 10 a.m., while the girls will also be in action at RU later in the day at 2 p.m.

The Bobcats (20-0) got a tough challenge from the Pioneers, who packed the box defensively and relied heavily on goalkeeper Trevor Owens to stay in the contest.

Owens had multiple first-half saves, but Radford senior Zack Turk broke through with goals in the third and 17th minutes to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead.

In the second half the Bobcats again got on the board when midfielder Juan Perez scored in the 46th minute for a 3-0 advantage. Senior Carson Hooper capped the scoring when he got a ball under Owens’ outstretched arms into the front-right corner of the goal for a 4-0 lead in the 31st minute.

“We definitely came out with more intensity and got on them early, but their goalie was great. He was probably the best we’ve seen all year,” Hooper said.

Radford coach Greg Wade was pleased that his team was able to adjust to an unfamiliar opponent, but he did see places for improvement.

“We really didn’t know anything about them. We had to take a wait-and-see approach,” Wade said. “We got that first and second goal pretty quick, but then I think we played too complacent.”

While the Pioneers were able to keep the game tight, they were never able to break through for a goal of their own.

“We kind of wanted to pack the defense in and counterattack and get a quick goal,” Owens said.

In the night’s opener, senior co-captain Lexi Denny scored four goals and assisted on another as Radford (18-2-1) dominated in a convincing victory.

Denny opened the scoring in the second minute with a goal off an assist from teammate Jada Penn. She followed that moments later with an unassisted score in the fourth minute.

“We came out really hard and ready to go,” Denny said.

In the 11th minute Radford increased the lead to 3-0 when Lindsey Mannon scored off an assist from Denny. It was the first of three goals on the night for Mannon.

On defense, goalkeeper Amanda Joyce recorded the shutout in net for the Bobcats.

Radford coach Darryl Gillespie described the contest as one of the best games his team had played this year. He added that the win achieved a goal the team set not long after they were knocked out of the playoffs last year in the Region C semifinals by James River.

“The girls have been determined to make it back to RU,” Gillespie said.

“No matter who we’ve played we haven’t been flat in a game this year.”

Before the season, Gillespie named seniors Denny and Lindsi Spark co-captains. It was a move the coach credits for the team’s renewed success.

“The difference between this year and last year is that we have great leadership,” Gillespie said. “Our goal was to be ranked first in the regions and get to RU. The girls have took care of business this year.”

John Battle coach Colleen Johnson was certainly impressed with her opponent’s play.

“You can tell those girls have played together longer than us,” Johnson said. “They mesh well together.”

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