JF, Glass girls soccer teams play to a second tie

FOREST — The way the E.C. Glass and Jefferson Forest girls soccer teams are playing, after tying for a second time, 1-1 Tuesday night at Sabre Stadium, it’s very possible they will meet in a third match next month to determine the Seminole District regular-season champion.

The Hilltoppers (8-0-2, 4-0-2 Seminole) and Cavaliers (6-0-2, 3-0-2) fought tooth and nail throughout the contest between friendly rivals, who each feature five seniors from the same Central Virginia United 18-and-under travel team.

"What a game," Cavaliers coach Stan Golon said. "Everybody was flying out there from the first second. Right from the get-go, it was just back-and-forth, intense speed. The speed of play was remarkable.

"I think we stayed within ourselves," he added. "That was how we persevered."

Glass coach Darien McClurg compared Tuesday’s tie to the early-season 2-2 draw on the Hilltoppers’ home turf.

"It was the same style game,"  he said. "Both teams have a good sense of their identity and they know the style they want to play and we do our best to try to disrupt each other. Once again, it was kind of blow for blow the whole game."

Glass senior striker Dessi Dupuy struck first, breaking a scoreless tie 12 minutes before halftime off a long through pass from Lindsay Riordan with a deftly touched, perfectly placed right-footed shot angled inside the right post.

"It was an outstanding pass by Lindsay from about 40 yards out (that) split the defenders and just led Dessi in," McClurg said. "Dessi’s a goal-scorer. She’s pretty lethal one-on-one. She knows what to do when she gets near the goal and it was a very clinical, clean finish."

"Dessi’s first goal was world class," Golon added. "That was beautiful. She buried it with a nice little roller into the far corner."

JF junior Lauren Nicholas evened the score with 12 minutes remaining in regulation when she toed in a free ball high inside the right post after a corner-kick cross from Becki Blue bounced around in the box.

"It was kind of a scrum," McClurg said. "Our keeper is not going to see that shot because it came out of a mass of people. I don’t think that’s a savable shot."

In the second half, Dupuy had a few quality chances denied by JF sophomore goalkeeper Allison Gossen, who came out to cut off the angle on a breakaway, barely deflecting Dupuy’s shot from the top right side of the box wide of the cage.

After Dupuy won a 50-50 ball near midfield, turned and started another break, Gossen saved her running shot off the dribble near the right post. Moments later, after blocking a short-ranged shot by Dupuy, Gossen took out Kelsey Thomson in a collision in the right side of the box before getting to the loose ball, squelching another threat.

The Cavaliers had a couple opportunities to net the game winner, including one give-and-go between Chelsea Hayes and Anna Carter early in the first five-minute overtime when Glass goalie Mary Anne Robertson volleyed a shot by Carter over the crossbar.

"Each keeper came up with one big one," McClurg said. "That was a great punch save there to keep the tie."

Hayes and Glass senior defender Ashlea Caylor maintain a positive relationship off the field, and as CVU teammates, but pit them against one another, and that friendship quickly turns to feud.

"We’ve played with each other for maybe eight years now, so we know how each other plays and we were going at it during the first and second halves," Hayes said. "There was no hard feelings, but we were really mad at each other. I grabbed her shirt in the first half and after the game, she showed me this huge scrape mark on her (stomach)."

Caylor later came to Hayes’ aid when she cramped up after going up for a header and both legs gave out beneath her in the Hilltoppers’ box late in the second half.

"Ashlea helped me because she’s used to cramps," Hayes said. "She kept saying ‘Are you OK?’ She’s a good friend."

The expression "Tying is like kissing your sister" holds true between these two teams, who are like sibling rivals.

"It’s always going to be a good game between us and Glass," Hayes said. "You just never know. We’re not happy with a tie, so we’re going to want it just as bad next time."