Trading Places

GMHS Girls Soccer

Freshman Katie Turner capped off a string of three unanswered Mustang goals with a stoppage time marker to put Mason up 4-3 and claim the title.

Turner capitalized on an unfortunate break for the Eagles. A Clarke County defender dropped a pass back to the goalie, who was unprepared for it, and playing from her knees, had no choice but to use her hands to prevent the ball from entering the goal. The illegal play resulted in an indirect kick for the Mustangs. Senior Alison Penland set the ball in motion and Turner sent it past the goalie for the game-winner.

“The touch by Alison and Katie Turner’s timing on the kick, with its velocity and direction just above the grass, was breathtaking,” Assistant Coach Bob Penland said.

The Mustangs went down early under three first-half goals. Penland evened the game, at 1-1, taking a through pass from Turner and lacing it into the net. But ten minutes later Clarke scored the first of two consecutive goals and threatened to turn the game into a route.

But in the 37th minute senior Becky Roa scored off an assist from Penland to trim the lead to 3-2 and gave the Mustangs a glimmer of hope.

Throughout the game sophomore goalie Alex Pender faced a dizzying barrage of shots, totaling thirty in all, and turned aside two good scoring chances to start the second half. Shortly thereafter Penland struck again, this time on a breakaway, knotting the score at 3-3 and setting the stage for the late-game drama.

“The electricity on the field was magical,” Penland said. “And the culmination of a season thus far with such a rousing comeback gave the entire team a huge lift towards Radford.”

The win over Clarke is the first in four meetings for Mason. Prior to Friday, the Eagles had only lost to perennial power Brentsville, who this year moved up to the AA division.

The road to the finals was a relatively easy one for the Mustangs. Following up on their shutout victory over Nelson County, Mason routed Buffalo Gap 7-0. Roa scored twice in the first twenty minutes of the contest and junior Christina Kirkbride added another goal to put the Mustangs up 3-0 at the half. Four goals in the second half (Penland, freshman Katelyn Freeman and two by Turner) ensured a lopsided victory for Mason.

The Mustangs will open the state tournament against the Region C runner-up Friday at noon, with the winner playing for the championship Saturday at 1 p.m.

GMHS Boys Soccer

A deflected shot by Clarke sophomore Nat Elliston in the 28th minute snuck by Mason senior goalie Alex Fatovic proved the difference in the closely contested final and gave the Eagles their first victory over the Mustangs in four tries this season.

Mason controlled play prior to the Clarke goal with a series of offensive chances led by senior Peter Hamill. The half ended with Mason leading in the shots category 9-5. Fatovic came up with a one-on-one save off his foot in the second half to keep the score close, but the Mustangs could never find the equalizer.

Clarke began to assert itself more in the second half, and while the Eagles failed to score again, they controlled the mid-field and limited Mason’s offensive attack.

Elliston’s goal broke a string of six straight shutouts by Fatovic.

The match was held at Clarke County’s home field, despite Mason’s higher seeding, due to a pre-determined venue selection system used in the tournament.

The Eagles provided Mason’s only challenge during the Regional Tournament. After an 11-0 decimation of Riverheads, the Mustangs blew past Goochland 5-0 in the semi-finals. Mason leapt out to a three-goal halftime lead on tallies by sophomore Greg Curtin and two by Hamill. Junior Nils-Peter Ek and sophomore Mike Chaves added the final two goals to cement the victory.

Perhaps more significant than the loss of the Region B Championship however, the Mustangs had to play an additional match on Tuesday, while Clarke received a bye to the Friday’s semi-finals. And that extra game may have proved costly.

Mason prevailed over Windsor Tuesday but may have lost top scoring threat Hamill for the remainder of the tournament, a harmful side-effect of the 3-0 victorious effort that Head Coach Art Iwanicki dubbed “casual, lackadaisical and horrible.”

Hamill left with a badly bruised calf twenty minutes into the game, but not before giving the Mustangs a 1-0 lead with an early goal. While Mason Trainer Vicki Galliher stated that the injury looked “okay,” Iwanicki fears Hamill will be sidelined for the crucial semi-final game on Friday.

After Hamill’s goal, the Mustang attack stagnated, allowing Windsor to hang in the game, and the Dukes nearly tied the score when Fatovic mishandled a pass from a teammate and was forced to pull a Windsor player down just outside the 18-meter box to prevent an uncontested goal. Fatovic received a yellow card for his tactics and had to be sent off, replaced in net by Josiah Larson for the ensuing free kick. The Mustang defense blocked the try however and Mason survived the scare unscathed.

But the situation did little to inspire the Mustangs who failed to put away their opponent, who was urged on by a large and boisterous fan contingent, including one enthusiastic mother apparently auditioning for the role of banshee in a to-be-determined Irish castle.

Finally, with 11:10 remaining in the match, Ek buried a curving cross pass from Paul Arnaudo to give the Mustangs a cushion. Ek added another goal just before the final whistle after Windsor substituted in a group of female players to finish out the game.

Mason will likely need a much better effort if they hope to contend this weekend at Radford University. Friday the Mustangs will face Radford High School in a 4 p.m. match. Should they win, they will advance to the finals on Saturday.