The Lord Botetourt boys are the second seed in this week’s Conference 31 soccer tournament, which will be hosted by Rockbridge County High School.

The Cavs had a first round bye as the tournament opened Monday. Opening round games found Rockbridge downing Alleghany, 5-3, and Magna Vista shutting out Staunton River, 6-0.

Semifinals were scheduled for Tuesday, with LB taking on Magna Vista and Northside meeting host Rockbridge. The final is Thursday at Northside at 5 p.m. in the first game of a championship doubleheader with the girls. The two finalists earn spots in the Region 3A West tournament next week.

The Cavaliers concluded regular season play with an 11-4-1 record last week. The four losses come as a result of being swept against Northside and William Byrd.

“The smaller wins in the midst of our losses are that we improved from the first to the second appearance with each team,” said coach Tim Wright.

Botetourt’s final win in the regular season was a 6-0 victory over Staunton River last Friday night in Moneta.  Sophomore goalkeeper Collin Ewers recorded his first shutout of the season and goal scorers included Corey Hackett, Jacob Booth, Matt Smith, Mica Rich, Benny Ford, and Trey Rice.

“I feel like we are going into the conference tournament in a good position,” said Wright. “We have progressed in the midst of the losses and the wins. My one goal during the tournament is to see my entire roster take a posture of empathy by putting themselves in their teammates’ shoes. By doing so, I think we can play better team ball. Something that played into our success the second time we played Northside and something that was our demise against Byrd.”