The James River soccer teams are battling for seeds in their respective regional tournaments, which are scheduled to begin June 14. The Knights are off this week but return to action next Tuesday, June 1, with a boys-girls doubleheader at Alleghany.
Last Thursday in Springwood the Knights played host to Glenvar with mixed results. The girls opened with a 3-0 win over the Highlanders but the boys played second and lost by the same 3-0 tally.
The girls celebrated “Senior Night” by dominating the longtime district rival Highlanders. River’s Kaylyn Bryant opened the scoring with a shot from long range in the very first minute of the match. Morgan Marshall added a second, less than five minutes into the period, for the Knights. Although the Knights had most of the possession, the Highlanders defense held them off to keep the score at 2-0 at the break.
The second half opened with some very intense play. Marshall assisted Ella Wright in a textbook cross and finished in the opening five minutes of the second half. That ended the scoring for the Knights while Haley Meadows recorded another clean sheet and 10 saves for the River girls in goal.
Between games six seniors were recognized, Rachel Hix, Myla Lester, Riley Potter, Bridgette West, Marshall and Meadows. All six are starters and four-year varsity players.
James River is now 5-1-1 overall and 4-0-1 in league play.
In the second game of the night, visiting Glenvar remained undefeated with a shutout win over River.
“We played well but not well enough to win,” said coach Jared Whiting. “Glenvar has a strong team this year and they scored more goals. It was a physically even match. However, they finished in the final third better than we did. I was pleased with the effort throughout the entire game.”