Two of the best girls soccer teams in the area will go head-to-head tonight when James River plays host to Lord Botetourt in an intra-county game. Kickoff is 5:30 p.m. in Springwood.
It’s the second meeting of the season between the two, with LB winning the first game in Daleville, 8-2. However, the Knights are 5-1-1 in their other games, including a win over Glenvar on Monday, and they’re out to prove they’re better than what they showed the first time around.
Meanwhile, LB is rolling along at 11-0 after three more wins last week. The Cavaliers outscored three opponents by a total of 27-1 in the three wins.
The first win was an 8-0 win over William Fleming in Roanoke. Briana Myers had three goals and Mary-Randall Plunkett and Mackenzie Tuck had two each.
On Wednesday in Daleville, LB scored early and often as the Cavs whipped up on visiting Heritage, 11-0. Myers had four more goals, Plunkett scored two and Heather Johnson had two goals for the Cavaliers. For the second night in a row Carleigh Booth and Chloe Beasley split time in the goal to combine for a shutout.
On Friday at home the shutout string ended but not the victory string as LB took an 8-1 win over visiting Staunton River. Myers, a sophomore, had her eighth goal of the week and assisted on four others. Autumn Bonhotel had two goals for LB as the Cavs upped their Blue Ridge District record to 5-0. Staunton River is second in the district at 3-2 after losing to LB.
Meanwhile, James River played a solid game against Glenvar at home Monday and pulled off a 1-0 win. The Knights peppered the Highlanders’ goal, hitting the post on several occasion, but could only hit the net once.
“We took control of the game early, moving the ball well and pushing hard into Highlander territory,” said River coach Bill Smith.
Freshman Kayla Myers scored at the 12-minute mark for the Knights, driving a powerful unassisted shot into the back of the net. The score stayed close, largely due to the efforts of Glenvar keeper Meghan Thompson, as James River dominated possession and repeatedly attacked the Highlander goal throughout the game. Thompson had 14 saves for Glenvar.
At the other end, River keeper Colleen Peery had a lighter workload. She did make one dramatic save on a second half Glenvar corner kick that could have tied the match.
The Knights are now 4-1 in Three Rivers District matches. River had a match at Radford postponed by weather last week and that will be made up on May 15. After hosting LB tonight the Knights will be back home Friday to meet Giles.
