Both St. Anne’s-Belfield and Woodberry Forest’s boys soccer teams are both battling for a spot in the VISAA Division I playoffs, with both sitting near the bubble. They’re also battling for Prep League supremacy and bragging rights.
Suffice it to say, there was a lot on the line in their battle Tuesday evening.
On a rainy, cold day, STAB prevailed at home over Woodberry Forest 1-0, potentially cementing a spot for the Saints in the VISAA Division I playoffs in the process.
“I think they came out with a little more energy than we did and I think that threw us off,” said STAB coach Rob Lane. “To get a win even in that situation is huge. The last 15 minutes was just a battle.”
The Saints got the decisive goal from Alex Bertone late in the game on a strong run just minutes after Woodberry appeared to have broken the deadlock on a fluky score before being ruled offsides. The Tigers’ non-goal came on a high, arching boot that rainbowed into the goal. After a quick conference, it was waved off because an offsides Woodberry player tried to make a play on the ball.
“Had he not gone for that ball it’s a goal, so the one time one time you don’t want him to go for the ball…it’s unfortunate but sometimes that’s the way it is,” said Woodberry coach Len Mills. “You’ve got to also be lucky sometimes.”
Minutes later, Bertone broke loose and finished off the run, one of the Saints’ leading scorer’s biggest goals of the season.
“He’s got super speed but he also just makes creative runs,” Lane said. “When you combine strength, speed and creativity it’s a good combo.”
From there the Saints held on and secured the win. Both defenses played incredibly in the defensive struggle, squashing a number of opportunities for each offense.
“STAB has a lot of very lethal threats up top and one late in the game is the difference,” Mills said. “We did a good job containing them and again Randolph (Walker), a great job in goal for us and a lot of good senior leadership for us.”
The Tigers face off against St. Christopher’s Friday at 3:30 p.m.
