By Liz Keller/Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
PALMYRA – The top-seeded Fluvanna County boys soccer team took care of business on Thursday night against William Monroe.
The Flucos, the regular season Jefferson District champions, posted a 4-0 shutout over Monroe in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Fluvanna (12-1-2) used its well-balanced attack and a stingy defense to advance to the semifinals on Tuesday. The Flucos will face Monticello, who beat Orange County in the first round.
The Fluvanna defense shut down the visiting Dragons the entire game, and didn’t give up a shot on goal until the closing minutes.
“Our defense has been the most consistent part of our team all year,” Fluvanna coach Patrick Dieter said. “We have not given up, except for the other night, I don’t remember giving up two goals to any team in a long time. They can all play soccer, and in the past we’ve just put athletes back there. They get the ball, move it up the field. Now they get the ball, they’re looking to pass – they start a lot of our runs up the field.”
The Flucos got on the scoreboard in the ninth minute as freshman Dale Ludwig got the ball past William Monroe keeper Tyler Edge on a beautiful header. Fluvanna added another in the game’s 30th minute on a nifty play from junior Taylor Rafaly. The speedy striker took a pass from Brandon Eck and placed the ball in the left corner of the net as the Flucos built a 2-0 lead.
FCHS extended its advantage just before halftime as Nick Shepherd scored on an unassisted play.
The Flucos kept the pressure on in the second half but missed several opportunities to score again until late in the game. Ludwig found freshman Christian Franco, who put the ball in on a nifty close-range shot.
Dieter has been particularly pleased with the play of the two freshmen as of late.
“Our younger guys continue to play unbelievable,” Dieter said. “Our two freshmen [Dale Ludwig and Christian Franco] who I’ve started a lot of the games this year, they just slide around the field and show a lot of the older guys who maybe aren’t playing as quickly or intensely as they should, they’re a good example as freshmen. I just can’t say enough about those guys.”
Despite the loss, William Monroe coach Isaac Hutchinson can see the improvements his team has made over the course of the year.
“Our understanding of the game has grown. We have a lot of inexperienced players and we’re immature in our tactical understanding,” Hutchinson said. “Now a lot of the guys are playing more confidently. The last time we played them, it was 9-1. A lot of the guys played timidly. And tonight they pushed and they pushed and I think that says a lot about who they are.”
Fluvanna is one step closer to reaching the elusive district title game, but knows it will face a stiff test against Monticello on Tuesday. The teams will play at Western Albemarle at 5 p.m.
“The tournament’s really dangerous – we have not gotten past the second round of the tournament yet. We have not gotten to the championship game,” Dieter said. “Two years ago we lost in quadruple overtime to Western, last year we lost to Charlottesville on a shot by Henry Von Storch late in the game, so we have a bit of a chip on our shoulders. We have reason to really go after that game on Tuesday.”
