Photos by Brian Hoffman
The Lord Botetourt soccer team improved to 3-1 in Blue Ridge District games with a 3-1 win at Northside last Friday night. LB trails only William Fleming in the BRD standings heading into this week.
The Cavaliers stepped on the gas early against the Vikings as Will Hall was able to dribble down the left side and cross the ball to Kalob Daniels, who laid the ball off to Andres Barroso. Andres then found the back of the net and Botetourt led just 45 seconds into the match.
Five minutes later, Barroso knocked a corner kick into the box where Hunter Atkinson was at the back post to head it over the keeper and give the Cavaliers an early 2-0 lead.
The Vikings knocked in a rebound shot with three minutes until intermission to bring the deficit to one at the half, 2-1. The second half was a full on battle and in the final 10 minutes Isaac Alderman pressured the Vikings’ back line and was able to strip the ball from them and take it down the left side. Alderman was fouled inside the box to give the Cavaliers a penalty kick and Daniels stepped up to the line and knocked in the shot to give Lord Botetourt a comfortable lead with the clock running out, sealing the win.
The victory was a much-needed confidence booster for the Cavaliers, who lost to two strong teams in prior games last week. The Cavs were at William Fleming Tuesday and dropped a 4-1 decision. Barroso scored Botetourt’s goal as the Colonels remained unbeaten in the district.
Then, on Thursday, the Cavaliers were at Salem where the host Spartans took a 6-0 win. Salem has lost just once this spring, to perennial state contender Blacksburg.
LB comes into the week with a 3-6 overall record but they’ve played a tough non-district schedule, with two losses to once beaten Salem and two to undefeated Glenvar, the defending Class 2 state champs. This week LB is home to Franklin County Tuesday, at Christiansburg Thursday and at Franklin County Friday.
