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Tie follows landmark win
Rappahannock's girls' soccer team should have won on Monday.The Panthers had 35 shots on goal; Stonewall Jackson had only a handful.
Still, at the end of the game, both teams had scored once, bringing a 1-1 tie after going into overtime.
Monday's muddy game between Rappahannock and the Stonewall Jackson Generals was the second time the two teams butted heads in the past week.
In the previous game, Rappahannock came out on top, beating the Generals 2-0 last Friday -- the first time the Panthers notched a victory over Stonewall Jackson in four years.
And the Panthers won when the Generals were in full force.
On Monday Stonewall Jackson was down four starters because of injuries and a penalty. Head coach Jason Poole said he had to pull from the J.V. level to fill out the ranks.
Sara Korb put Stonewall on the scoreboard first when she kicked a ball out of a melee that swirled feet from the Rappahannock goal.
The Panthers answered soon after when midfielder Kim Hutcheson passed up to forward Morgan Flournoy, who maneuvered past the Stonewall Jackson defense and rocketed a shot into the upper right corner of the net.
For the most part, the game was played between Rappahannock's offense and the Generals' goalkeeper Meghan Lutz.
The Panthers' forwards and midfielders dazzled Stonewall's defense with poised passing up the wings. From there the Panthers rained shots on Lutz, who swatted them down time and again.
The Panther offense has steadily improved ball control and passing over the season, but head coach Dave Gillis said the girls might have concentrated on possession too much on Monday.
"Maybe we handled the ball a little too much today," he said after the game.
And whereas Rappahannock's defense had been the backbone of the team's successes in past games, this past time around the fullbacks chased helter-skelter after the Generals' forwards. If Rappahannock sweeper Elena Kritter hadn't stepped up to plug holes, the Panthers might have not even come away with a tie.
"I think we have a concern for speed," Gillis said.
Coach Gillis however remained optimistic about the team's progress.
"It's coming," he said. "The right stuff is coming together."
E-mail the reporter at mpelkey@timespapers.com.
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