Riverheads girls soccer gets over Bull Run hump

By Jim Sacco

Published: May 26, 2008

GREENVILLE — When the referee blew the double whistle to end the match, the Riverheads girls soccer team collapsed on each other on their end of the pitch. Then, after the quick on-field celebration, Kristen Moody and Kristin Shomo made a beeline for the stands, swung open the gate that separated the fans from the field and wrapped up Marsha Dattilio as tight as they could.
The tears began to flow. Finally, after four years and heartbreak, the Gladiators won a Region B match and got over that Bull Run District hump by defeating Clarke County 2-1 Monday.
“Mike would have been so proud,” Marsha Dattilio said, tears still streaming down her face as she clutched a yellow Christopher Newport ball cap close to her heart.  “This means so much.”
The hat belonged to her late husband, Mike Dattilio, an assistant coach at Riverheads, who died last Monday at the age of 61 from a heart attack. The win, according to Shomo and Moody, belonged to the man they still Coach Dattilio.
“We won that game for [his family], they deserve it,” Shomo said, her face still red from the tears. “If he was here, he would have been the happiest person alive.”
Shomo took a second to think, looking back toward the field where the players and fans continued to celebrate.
“He was here,” she said. “He was watching over us. I know it.”
Riverheads, the Shenandoah District regular-season and tournament champions, started slow and were unable to maintain attacks during the first half. The Eagles took advantage, scoring on a Katheryne Lawson direct free kick from just outside the penalty area. Riverheads almost tied it toward the end of the first when Kristen Moody’s header missed just left of the goal.
Moody would get another chance at a header in the second half. This time she hammered it home.
With the match knotted up at 1, Moody’s head found the ball off a Jessica Glover corner kick. Moody, moving toward the goal with momentum, lasered the ball off her noggin’ to give the Pride a 2-1 lead.
“I hit it so hard I felt dizzy for a few minutes after,” Moody said. “I saw [the ball] coming and it was like tunnel vision. It’s all I wanted to do.”
Her teammates mobbed Moody as she ran back to the center of the field. Clarke County goalkeeper Haley Socha remained on the turf, he head buried in her hands, as the Gladiators celebrated.
“She’s our number one target on corner kicks. Today, she was at the perfect place at the perfect time,” said Riverheads coach Homes Tehrani. “She’s wanted it and I told her, ‘Honey, you’re going to get it.’ And, today, she got it. She picked the perfect day.”
The day was far from perfect for the Eagles (12-4-3), a team that watched its offense go south as the second half wore on. Clarke could only muster four sustained attacks in the latter half of the match, with Riverheads clearing the ball at will.
“We had some injuries,” said Clarke County coach Laurie Harrell. “That didn’t make it easy on us. We have a really young team and they played hard. But sometimes it happens.”
If it wasn’t for Riverheads’ Casey Taylor, Moody’s goal would have just tied the game. But Taylor, minutes before Moody’s header, deflected a Clarke County shot after Riverheads keeper Liz Mahaney was taken out of position by a save.
“That was huge,” Tehrani said. “That was a great play.”
Riverheads (17-1-1) got the equalizer midway through the second half when Olivia Damico’s shot took a high bounce short of the net and sailed over Socha’s head for the score.
It set up Moody’s heroics later in the half and her eventual beeline, along with Shomo, into the waiting arms of Marsha Dattilio for the tearful embrace.
“It’s unfortunate [coach Dattilio] wasn’t here to see it,” Moody said.
Marsha Dattilio, flanked by her two daughters, was at a loss for words as she clutched her husband’s hat.
“I don’t know what else to say,” she said, flashing a smile through the tears.
Notes: A large contingent of Clarke County fans made the Memorial Day trip down Interstate 81 to follow their team. … A makeshift memorial to Mike Dattilio was set up along the chain-link fence separating the pitch from the fans. … Riverheads will get a break from the Bull Run District in their Region B semifinal Wednesday, the Gladiators will host Goochland at 6 p.m.