The Grafton boys soccer team notched another one-goal victory Wednesday, as the Clippers defeated the Nansemond River Warriors 2-1 at Bailey Field.
The victory advances the Clippers to the 4A Region Championship, where they will face Midlothian on Friday on the road.
The game was scoreless midway through the first half, and neither team created many promising scoring opportunities. Nansemond River struck first, as Bryan Morales brought the ball down the right side of the field, crossed it from just outside the 18-yard box to teammate Axel Lopez, who drilled the ball from the 6 yard line to the far left post.
The Warriors looked as if they would take the lead into halftime, but Grafton’s Jose Cortes made a literal last-second goal to end the first half in a tie.
The tying sequence started when, with less than 10 seconds remaining, Aaron Kaye made a hard shot from the 18-yard box on the left side of the field that was deflected off a defender. Kaye followed the ball as it rolled across the end line and quickly scooped it up, raced to the left corner and took his corner kick with less than three seconds remaining. Jose Cortes received the kick at the far post then found the back of the net with one second remaining in the half.
“We were pretty lucky to score there at the end of the half, it certainly gave us the momentum,” Grafton Coach Paul Sidhu said after the game.
The second half started much like the first with neither team finding the back of the net for the first 20 minutes. Grafton scored the final goal of the game with just under 19 minutes remaining on a cross from Juan Garcia to Aaron Kaye. Garcia came down the right side of the field just outside the 18-yard box and found Kaye, who was able to score and put his team ahead 2-1 — his third game-winning goal in three consecutive games.
With the lead, the Clippers made a dramatic shift to the game’s pace, slowing it down for the final 15 minutes to keep the Warriors at bay long enough to earn their place in the 4A South Region Final.
Grafton 2 Nansemond River 1
Goals: Grafton – Cortes, Kaye. Nansemond River – Lopez.
Assists: Grafton – Kaye, Garcia. Nansemond River – Morales
Saves: Grafton – Fox (2). Nansemond River – Tais (5)
— Rob Elliott
York Ends Season with 2-0 Loss to Culpeper
In search of its first state tournament berth in nearly 10 years, York’s season ended with a 2-0 loss to Culpeper in the 3A East Region semifinals held at King George High School on Wednesday.
After falling behind 1-0 at the half, York played its best soccer but was unable to find the back of the net.
The Falcons seemed hesitant with their passes during the first half, persistently working the ball to the outsides. Cameron Dail and Bailey McClure sent a couple good crosses from out wide, but York failed to put a shot on goal during the first 40 minutes.
Culpeper, meanwhile, continued to possess through the middle of the field and created more scoring chances than York early on. Falcons’ keeper Jacob Reimers made a few nice saves during the first half to keep the game scoreless.
York’s best chance of the first half came with under two minutes left on the clock when McClure centered a ball to Chad Latulipe, who was tripped in the box, but was not awarded a penalty kick.
The Falcons came out aggressive to start the second half with Max Poelker and Dail applying heavy pressure up front, but Culpeper countered one of the attacks and made good of the opportunity to take a 1-0 lead seven minutes in after a Mack Elliott slotted a ball past Reimers as he charged out of his post in front of of goal.
The goal seemed to wake up York’s attack as the Falcons put plenty of pressure on Culpeper’s back line the rest of the way, but never managed to score for the equalizer.
Joe Riddick and Gavin Homan each got their head on a pair of nice corners from Alasdair Thompson and Strack boomed a free kick from 25 yards out that sailed right into the arms of Culpeper’s keeper to highlight York’s better chances of the half.
After the Blue Devils took a 2-0 lead with 6:45 to play on a goal from Kyle Ollinger, McClure countered a Culpeper corner with a great run up the middle of the field that ended with a shot from the right side that was snared in by Culpeper keeper Jacin Smith.
“We were making things happen a little bit in the second half, but they were better than us,” said York Coach Ryan Hagerty, who will lose two players to graduation later this month. “For the seniors it’s a tough way to go out, but the younger guys will be better for it.”
— Will Armbruster
Lafayette-Kettle Run Semifinal Postponed
Lafayette’s 3A East Region semifinal against Kettle Run was stopped because of lightning with 11:03 to play in the first half and will resume Thursday at a time and site still to be determined.
Lafayette was trailing 1-0 after Kettle Run scored off a rebound in the 15th minute. The game will pick up where it left off Thursday.
— Will Armbruster
