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Balanced Attack: Charlottesville boys soccer advances past Jefferson Forest in region quarterfinals

Photo by Ashley Thornton

 

Charlottesville got goals from three different players and used a stifling defensive effort in a 3-0 victory over visiting Jefferson Forest on Wednesday night in the Region 4D quarterfinals.

 

It didn’t take long for the Black Knights’ attack, which has been bothered all year by injuries, to get going.

 

In the fifth minute, Joe Von Storch found himself all alone in the box following a long through-ball. From about 10 yards out from the right side, the junior bent one into the top left corner for a 1-0 lead.

 

Charlottesville dominated the first half, peppering Jefferson Forest’s net with 12 shots and keeping Cavaliers goalie Ian Fleck busy. Malcolm Brickhouse doubled the CHS lead in the 29th minute with a grass-cutting shot that skidded past Fleck.

 

“We’ve had so many injuries and we’ve had problems and games where we’re missing seven starters,” Charlottesville coach Stephan Cost said. “We’re not dealing with that anymore. We’ve got guys who can keep coming in, and they can come at you just as hard as the last group.”

 

The visitors from Bedford County had a golden opportunity to get on the board just before halftime when Landon Howard headed a feed from Sam Canning that looked destined for the back of the net, but Herbert Ryan dove from seemingly out of nowhere and pushed the shot aside.

 

It was Jefferson Forest’s only shot of the first half. It was also Ryan’s only save of the game, as Nate Fisher took over the goalkeeping duties for the second half per the team’s routine.

 

“We’ve been doing that all season. These guys challenge each other in practice all the time and make fantastic save after fantastic save,” Cost said. “They’re both really good goalies. And they agree with the system.”

 

He didn’t have to do much. The Charlottesville defense kept the Cavaliers at bay while the attack continued to hum. The Knights went ahead 3-0 in the 51st minute when Isaac Kenner send a grounder into the box and Aidan Folger redirected it past Fleck. Fleck registered 12 saves on the night.

 

Fisher gave the crowd one last reason to cheer in the final minutes when he made a couple of successive stops on two wide-open Cavalier shots.

 

“We knew that they were gonna play a possession game and not kick-and-chase,” Cost said, “We knew it was going to be a good opponent. So the objective was to come out and work hard, work hard, work hard.”

 

The Black Knights will host Bassett who knocked off E.C. Glass in penalty kicks in the quarterfinal. They’ll play in the regional semifinal next Tuesday.

 

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