Photo by Leigh Downey
The James River soccer teams have Three Rivers District games against Martinsville on Friday. The boys will be home and the girls are away.
The boys are looking for their first district win. They dropped two to 3RD foes in the past week, 3-1 to Carroll County and 6-0 to Radford, to fall to 1-8 overall.
The girls are on a three game winning streak against district teams, upping their Three Rivers record to 4-1 with a 6-4 overall mark. On Monday of this week they picked up a big 3-1 win over the rival Bobcats in Radford.
“This is an old rivalry and both teams tend to bring their best to the game,” said River coach Bill Smith.
River’s Avery Saunders scored five minutes into the contest, besting the Bobcat goalkeeper, but Radford scored on a free kick to knot the score at 1-1. Then, with five minutes on the clock, a dramatic passing series with Jordyn Simmons, Sonny Sharp and Sophia Martin ended in a solid finish and goal by Martin as River went up 2-1 at the break.
The second half was back and forth, but the Knights controlled the game and cleaned up each attack with a very capable back line. With 16 minutes remaining in the game Simmons scored on a strong second effort in a complicated attack on the Radford goal to give the visitors a little breathing room and a 3-1 win. Rhaya Kitt had four saves for the Knights.
Last Tuesday in Springwood the girls defeated Patrick County in another close one, 4-3. Martin, Saunders, Ayden Jennings and Lilly Falls all scored for the Knights while Kitt and Regan Childs split the goal keeping duties with four saves each. River had 33 shots in the game.
Then, last Friday, the girls entertained Carroll County in Springwood and came up big again, 2-0. This one was scoreless at the half and the second half saw much of the same with a solid James River attack held back by a strong Carroll defense. Midway through the half Jennings found the back of the net, shooting through traffic at range. Martin then scored in the closing minutes to give the Knights some breathing room and the victory. Kitt had a dozen saves.
“The girls are playing well and we should continue on Friday at Martinsville,” said Smith. “Next week is crazy with us playing Glenvar, Nelson, and Northside, all tough teams who have beaten us this season. It will be a real test.”
