Goochland takes Group A tournament away from Wilson

By Dana Jones Correspondent
Published: May 28, 2008

FISHERSVILLE — Everything clicked for Goochland in its 6-2 Region B semifinal win over Wilson Memorial on Wednesday.
“It all just fell into place,” Goochland coach Ron Spessard said.
The Bulldogs were able to take control two minutes into the game when forward Luke Gall sent one into the net. The Bulldogs’ fancy footwork enabled them to win a majority of the one-on-one plays, however the Hornets’ defense was missing their key fullback, Kyle Inlow, due to illness.
“We stuck with our formation, but it just didn’t work for us,” Wilson Memorial coach Kyle Congleton said. “The lack of midfield play was what caused the issues.”
Frustration set in early for Wilson after making fundamental mistakes and missing the goal by inches on almost every shot.
“What we do is we contain and then take the ball,” said Spessard.
Goochland was able to contain Wilson’s star players and its aggressive performance led to many attacks at the net.
“They had some really skilled guys,” said Congleton. “I didn’t know much about them but they had some real technical skill. They’re a good squad.”
With 15:18 on the clock, Goochland midfielder Will Boinest launched a corner kick and Gall sent it into the net. With the score at 2-0 Wilson was feeling down and out until Josh Miller answered with a strong kill from outside of the box three minutes later. However, the Bulldogs countered when Bryan Henley scored off of a free kick two minutes later.
“When shots are executed perfectly then there’s really no defense,” Spessard said.
The Hornets refused to give up, hustling after every loose ball and chasing down the Bulldogs. A little rough-housing within the box led to a penalty kick for Wilson with four minutes remaining. The Hornets’ Drake Adams nailed the kick with little effort. Wilson was down 2-3 going into the half.
“Wilson played strong and never gave up,” said Spessard.
Both teams were hot directly out of the break but it was the Bulldogs who again took control. At 38:31 midfielder Sam Zogran scored on the baffled Hornets.
“What I saw was that mentally we weren’t too serious,” Congleton said. “We looked confused and had a couple of guys out of position.”
The Goochland forwards continued on with the aggressive play and Wilson’s defenders could not keep up with the fast pace. With 26:09 on the clock, Goochland’s Henley again scored off of a free kick. Six minutes down the road and the Bulldogs worked in one more shot from Gall, giving him a hat trick for the game.
“We were missing some of our first team players and just brought some new guys into the lineup,” said Congleton. “The possession was in Goochland’s favor though.”