Photo by Bryant Altizer
Photo by Brian Hoffman
The Region 2C soccer tournaments for girls and boys are scheduled to begin on Wednesday, May 22. James River teams won’t know their fate until pairings are made official next Monday.
Both River teams fell to undefeated Glenvar teams on Monday of this week. The boys lost in Springwood, 8-0, and the girls lost at Glenvar, 6-0.
The girls finished the regular season with a 6-9-1 record. Last Friday in Stuart the Knights took a 4-2 win over home-standing Patrick County.
After a sloppy five minutes of back and forth play, James River settled into their game and played a solid first half of soccer. Konner Meyers scored from outside, assisted by Sophia Martin 23 minutes into the match. Rhaya Kitt converted, unassisted, at the midpoint of the half. Minutes later Breanna Anduiza made her own chance in the penalty area, setting up a textbook goal to stretch the lead to three. Myers struck again from outside, assisted by Drew Whitson taking the Knights into break with a four-point advantage and River held on in the second half to pick up a big win.
On Monday Glenvar standout Jules Stanley had a three-goal hat trick to pace the undefeated Highlanders. Kylee Aaron made 16 saves for the Knights with a lot of attacking pressure.
“Glenvar is a strong team and we were not up to their level,” said River coach Bill Smith. “I think they could go the distance this year. They’re very balanced and Stanley is a real impact player and goal scorer. We will most likely face them in the first round of the region tournament.”
The boys were shut out twice, 5-0 by Patrick, followed by Monday’s loss to Glenvar. The defending Class 2C champion Highlanders finished the regular season at 16-0.
“We had a tough week for sure,” said River coach Jared Whiting. “Two very good teams and we were short some players. The guys played hard but we just didn’t have what we needed to make a game of it. Proud of these guys battling all the way to the final whistle with everything they had.”
