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Tandem just a game away from threepeat

By Betsy Haugh / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor

The road to a third-straight VISAA Division 2 state championship only has one more stop for the Tandem girls soccer team, as the Badgers defeated North Cross 2-0 Friday night in the semifinals to again secure a spot in the state title game.

After knocking on the door from the first whistle, senior Leci Irvin was able to weave through the North Cross defense after receiving a nicely placed through ball from sophomore Payton Oliver-Smith to score Tandem’s first goal of the match with 18 minutes remaining in the first half.

“When we were able to gain composure in actually showing some possession we were able to build an attack and able to produce off that attack,” Tandem coach Brian Williams said.

“I think both of those goals were scored off of a nice build up play, it wasn’t just sort of a ball being popped in the air or something. Obviously having Leci being able to dribble through and really attack the goal helps.”

The Tandem defense withstood a surge of offense from North Cross to conclude the first half and throughout the second half, as North Cross continued to look for the equalizing goal. Led by senior Kate Moody, the Tandem back four proved up to the task and were able to preserve the shut out.

“Kate obviously left it all on the field,” Williams said. “She steps up; she plays big. We talked at halftime the team that was going to win was going to be the team that could adapt to how the other team was playing and also how the refs were calling the game, and the refs were allowing certain things to go, and I think Kate kind of latched on to that and really stepped up her intensity.”

Propelled by the solid defensive effort, the Tandem offense pushed through one last time with four minutes remaining in the game, as Irvin sent a ball into the box that senior Bri Carel was able to put in the back of the net.

Just minutes after the conclusion of their game, the Tandem girls watched as Eastern Mennonite scored in the last minute of regulation on a neighboring field to defeat Wakefield 1-0 and advance to play the Badgers in Saturday’s title game.

“Tomorrow’s going to be a really tough game,” Williams said. “I think we’re going to be quite evenly matched and it’s just going to come down to who gets that goal and who wants it more, and I’m hoping that these girls really show up to play tomorrow.”

Tandem will look to complete their title defense with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m. at Ukrop Park in Richmond.

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