Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Heritage falls flat against Brentsville
The intensity that helped Heritage High School's boys' soccer team capture the Dulles District regular season title in coach Betsy Munson's first season was missing for a large part of the Pride's Region II quarterfinal game against visiting Brentsville May 26 in Leesburg.
The end result was a 2-1 loss that brought a sudden close to a highly successful campaign for Heritage.
"We didn't come out with any sense of urgency or any fire at all. I'm at a loss because I thought we were prepared. We came out flat," Munson said.
"I give Brentsville a lot of credit. They came out with a lot of intensity. We really couldn't get our possession going,” Munson continued. “It was there, but we seemed to not be on the same page with each other, not stepping hard, not playing hard."
Brentsville, located in Nokesville, competes in the Northwestern District. The Tigers carried a 1-0 lead into intermission after Zach Kennedy scored with six minutes left in the first half.
Heritage senior Scott Wasser netted the equalizer in the 46th minute of regulation. Wasser's tally snapped the Pride's scoreless streak of nearly 150 minutes that started in the Dulles District championship game May 22.
Shortly after Wasser's tying goal Monday, a steady rain began to fall as the Tigers answered back in the 55th minute, when Trey Bright scored what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Heritage (13-3-3) produced its steadiest pressure of the game in the final five minutes of regulation -- keeping the ball in the Tigers' defensive zone and earning three corner kicks. But the Pride were unable to convert as they suffered their first home loss of the season.
"Second half was a little better, but I felt like we didn't really have that sense of urgency until we pushed everybody up late in the game," Munson said. "It should not have come to that."
Monday's loss closed out the varsity careers for Pride seniors Ivan Callejas, Amadu Bangaru, Luis Brun Rodriguez, Shawn Page, Luke Dauberman, Nana Darko, Bryan Mill and Wasser.
"I do want to credit the seniors. They really did lead us all year," Munson said. "It's sad for them to lose it on their home field tonight, but we did bring home the regular season title and a banner for the school."
Munson, who guided Clarke County High School to Virginia Group A titles in 2005 and 2006, expects a bright future for the Heritage program.
"I think the foundation is laid. The success is there," she said. "We have a strong J.V. program. We have a good assistant coach. I feel like we are going to contenders down the stretch every year. That's what I want to build here. I'm here for the long haul."
You must be logged in to post a comment.