By Drew Costley
George Mason High School’s girls varsity soccer team lost the Bull Run District championship for the first time since 2007 last Thursday. Clarke County High School beat the Mustangs 1-0 to win the postseason tournament only a week after losing the regular season title 3-0 to Mason. The Mustangs stomped Rappahannock County High School 8-0 last Wednesday in the semifinals of the district championships and beat Wilson Memorial High School 3-0 on Monday in the quarterfinals of the Region B championships.
Sophomore forward Ava Roth scored the Mustangs’ first three goals against the Rappahannock County Panthers and sophomore midfielder Jessica Gemond scored the fourth to put the score at 4-0 at halftime.
Roth scored her fourth goal and final goal of the game in the 44th minute after junior midfielder/forward Claire Trevisan found her on a pass through the Panthers’ defense. Roth said she and Trevisan have been able to connect to create many scoring opportunities throughout the season because they have the same mindset.
“We kind of read each others’ minds during the game,” Roth said. “She knows where I’m going, or I know where she’s going to play it.”
Rappahannock junior Taylor Ordile tried to intercept a shot in the 48th minute, but kicked the ball into the net for an own goal to put the Mustangs ahead 6-0. Two freshman players for the Mustangs, midfielder/forward Corinne Carson and defender/midfielder Melissa Johnson, finished off the match with scores in the 73rd and 78th minute respectively.
Head Coach Jennifer Parsons and Trevisan said the Mustangs’ loss to Clarke in the district championship might have had something to do with winning by large margins in the first two games of the district tournament. Before beating Rappahannock, the Mustangs beat Central High School 7-0 in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
“Our earlier games weren’t quite as rigorous,” Trevisan said. “And I think we kind of just let our guard down and almost came in with too much confidence [and] they kind of surprised us and we weren’t fully prepared.”
The Mustangs were on a 10-game win streak going into the game against the Eagles that started after a loss to County on April 19. But a goal by Clarke senior forward Sara Clark in the 62nd minute of the district championship marked the beginning of the end of that win streak.
After the game, Parsons said the Eagles showed up to win a championship and that her team “just showed up to play soccer.” Parsons said she hoped the loss coupled with the prospect of a season ending loss going into the regional tournament would give the Mustangs motivation to play hard.
Senior midfielder Maggie Mascarenhas said the Mustangs regrouped in preparation for their match against Wilson Memorial. She scored the Mustangs’ first goal in the 35th minute with a shot from outside the penalty box.
“We had been talking about how they were packing it into the box a lot and to try to take outside shots,” Mascarenhas said. “And I just saw an opportunity and went for it and something good happened.” The score was 1-0 at halftime. Roth scored the Mustangs’ second goal of the match in the 66th minute with a shot from the left side of the goal that hit the inside of the right post and bounced into the net. Trevisan scored the final goal of the match in the 70th minute.
The Mustangs played Appomattox County High School in the semifinals of the Region B championship on Wednesday, but results were not available at press time.
