Leesburg (May 7, 2013) – On a rainy Tuesday evening in which the Tuscarora High School varsity girls’ soccer team honored their seniors, junior Abby Downey provided the game’s lone goal as the Huskies (10-0-4 overall, 4-0-3 in district) defeated the reigning VHSL AA state champions and a team in a 3-way atop the Dulles District standings, the Woodgrove Wolverines (9-4-1, 5-2-1).
In the 11th minute of the first half, senior captain Annie Hartman placed a corner kick near the far side of the goal and Downey stepped forward knocking in her 12th goal of the season on the Huskies’ first shot attempt of the match from around six yards out.
Both Tuscarora and Woodgrove had their share of opportunities throughout the game. The Wolverines maintained control of the ball for the majority of the first half including three distinct opportunities to even the score.
Twenty-five minutes into the contest, Woodgrove’s senior Sarah Hardison broke away from the defense and met Tuscarora’s senior goalie Jackie McKenna one-on-one in the goal box. McKenna challenged the forward who dodged the sliding goalie and made a wide open run for the goal.
A few strides before finishing, hustling Huskies’ senior defender Cassidy McKenzie slid from behind Hardison to poke the ball out of bounds on what seemed to be a sure goal.
As the first half came to an end, Hardison once again ran past Tuscarora’s defense for another one-on-one chance. This time, however, McKenna stepped up with a diving save which she knocked past the goal line giving Woodgrove the half’s final corner.
Senior Brittany Basinger received the corner two yards from the goal and kicked the ball over the crossbar on a turn around one-timer bringing the half to an end.
Tuscarora controlled most of the second half including a shot attempt just minutes into the half by senior Grace Bowen on a sliding chance which missed by a yard to the left.
Woodgrove answered with a chance of their own several minutes later when Basinger sent a corner kick into the box where two Wolverine forwards came up short, trying to head the ball in for the game tying goal.
Sophomore forward Kennedy Jakubek tried to ice the game for the Huskies in the 66th minute as she sprinted past the Woodgrove defense and sent a solid shot into the arms of senior goalie Maggie Buxton.
Hardison and Woodgrove had four more shot attempts late in the match, three of which came back-to-back-to-back off a rebound from the goalie and deflection off the sidebar before senior forward Ashley Bonner missed wide right in the last few minutes of the contest.
Tuscarora’s 1-0 decision was their ninth shutout of the year, and was also the first time Woodgrove failed to score in a match all season.
Woodgrove still has 16 points in district, the same as Briar Woods and Loudoun County, both 5-0-1, but the Wolverines only have one match remaining — against Loudoun County on May 14 while the Falcons and Raiders have three matches still to play.
Tuscarora sits at 15 points with two matches remaining and still maintain an outside shot at a district title. The Huskies have games against ninth-seeded Panthers at Potomac Falls on Friday and the seventh-seeded Loudoun Valley Vikings in Purcellville next Tuesday for their final match of the regular season.
