The James River girls saw their soccer season come to an end against their arch-rival, Radford, just one win away from making the state tournament. The Knights lost to the Bobcats, 1-0, at the Smith River Complex in Martinsville in the Region 2C semifinal round.

It was a hard-fought match between two talented teams.  The contest was decided by a single goal, scored midway through the first half by Radford’s Makenzie Page.

“Both teams worked hard to get on the board for the full 80 minutes, but both have strong defense and solid goal keeping,” said River coach Bill Smith. “The level of effort was what you would expect from two teams striving to go to the state tournament.  Nothing was left to give.”

The game was the last in a James River uniform for seniors Kaitlyn McClung, Abby Wentworth, Olivia Baker, Brook Ford and Tyller Roney, who was sidelined with an injury the second half of the season.

James River finished the season at 12-5 overall. The five losses included four by a single goal to rivals Lord Botetourt and Radford twice each