Rapids extra touch controls final regular season game

Most teams will agree that the time for lineup and play experimentation is before the playoffs hit. It was with that mentality that the Monacan boys’ varsity soccer team made a variation in their lineup as they took the field against James River last Thursday.

The Chiefs went back to their normal style of play after half time, but the Rapids had built a commanding 4-0 lead, which they extended to 5-0 by the final whistle.

“We went back to playing a little closer to our style,” Monacan head coach Sean Hollingshead said. “We had tried to do something that obviously wasn’t working in the first half, so we went back to what we normally do.”

Monacan got off more and better quality shots in the second half. The first came early off a nice pass from the midfield to Justin Pugh, who sent a ball high to Ramon Gomez. Gomez’s header scooted past the post, but he got the ball back near midfield a minute later. He dodged the last defender down the right side and went one-on-one with goalie Zac Adams. His shot again went wide.

The Rapids took control of the goal kick with Nick Wright and Seth Harrison playing a back-and-forth passing game down the left side of the field. Harrison took the ball deep into the corner and sent a pass back to Wright, who sent a shot on goal as he slid out of bounds. The shot went wide, but the Rapids retained possession and Tyler Welch got off a spinning kick. Monacan goalie Matt Butta saved the shot.

Though the Rapids got a goal late in the game, the bulk of the scoring was contained to the first half where James River got four goals from four different players.

James River controlled play from the opening tap. Dylan Bowman and Ben Messer played the back-and-forth passing game down the right side. Bowman got the ball back just outside the right post and sent a hard shot on goal. Butta made a nice backward diving catch on the shot.

But the Rapids would not be denied for long. A corner kick on the right side with seven minutes counted off the clock found the head of Isreal Mendoze on the opposite post for the tally.

The Rapids quickly got back into scoring territory, and it was Wright’s turn to make a mark. Just five minutes after the first goal, Ben Messer received the ball within scoring range. However, instead of sending a shot on goal, Messer got in one extra centering pass to Wright, who popped the ball into the net.

The extra pass made the difference for James River throughout the half. The Rapids would score in the same manner, with 22 minutes remaining, when Nate Shiffman got into scoring position. Well covered by defenders, Shiffman sent the extra pass to Bowman who popped the goal in off the left post.

Phillip Froelich would pick up the final goal of the half with 7:30 remaining.

“Lately, we have been really picking up on passing and moving the ball quickly, and I think that’s opening up these people,” James River head coach Eric Schlueter said. “Tonight was a pleasant surprise because we got so many more people involved.”

Wright picked up his second goal of the evening with 2:42 left in the game. Monacan goalie Tom Kaisen made a save on a hard shot from close range by Bowman. But the ball bounced back out to Wright, who put a quick shot in off the right side of the goal box.

Cole Moore (2) and Adams (5) combined for seven saves for the Rapids while Butta (10) and Tom Kaisen (2) combined for 12 for the Chiefs.

Monacan entered this week’s Dominion District Tournament third while James River entered the tournament in second behind Cosby.

“It’s really going to come down to us coming out and giving our best effort and making sure that we are playing our game to the best of our ability,” Hollingshead said.

“We’ve got four or five great teams in this district so anybody can beat anybody at this point,” Schlueter added.