Robinson Boys and Girls Hit State Finals
Chantilly, VA - The AAA state finals will feature a double billing of Robinson High School, as both its boys' and girls' squads scored late goals to topple their foes from the South on Friday afternoon.
The Robinson girls' prevailed through the hot afternoon sun to rally from behind for a 3-2 win over Woodbridge, setting up a 1 p.m. match on Saturday against Battlefield.
The boys' would follow suit as night began to fall with a 1-0 triumph over Thomas Dale, and now face Deep Run on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Both will take place at Westfield High School.
Boys:
Two of the best defensive squads in the state promised goals at a premium on paper, and delivered just that.
In a defense-lovers delight, sophomore Alex Makcumbi produced the match's lone goal in the 66th minute to advance the Rams (12-4-3) over Thomas Dale (21-2-0) and into the finals.
While their opponents from Chesterfield dominated offensively in the first half to the tune 3-0 in shots on goal, Robinson was able to hang on long enough to get their engine started.
"I think we were holding onto the ball way too much in the first half and we were getting stripped on the dribble," Rams head coach Jay Cicala said. "So I really emphasized on tiring (Thomas Dale) by playing two-touch ... and that gave us more opportunities on attacking."
On the winning goal, Andrew Teran blocked a clearing attempt off a corner kick and fired in advertently at Makcumbi. The sophomore trapped and turned it to the top right corner of the net.
"I was trying to deflect it and make the keeper go the wrong way, but it stopped." Mackcumbi said. "I thought I was offside for a second, but I just hit it."
The Rams' second-half offensive surge fed off of the Knights' attempt at the same, but Robinson goalie Adrian Gonzalez and his defense displayed textbook bend-but-don't-break defense to foil Thomas Dale's plans.
Robinson would capitalize on the other end.
"The other team was pulling everybody (up)", Makcumbi said. "So we had more people up top to get possession of the ball."
Thomas Dale's attacked peaked towards the end of the first half, when midfielder Patrick Innes made one of his many electrifying runs, knifing through the Ram defense before nailing the ball into Gonzalez' side. Despite never scoring, the Knights were able to maneuver into Robinson's box frequently until the final stretch.
Girls:
As Robinson junior Annie Hovland prepared for a 55th minute free kick under the weight of suffocating humidity and the pressure of a tied state semifinal match, she stood tall.
Then she scorched the net, completing a two-goal second-half rally that pulled out a 3-2 thriller over Woodbridge.
Robinson (20-1) struggled in the middle stages of the match as Woodbridge (20-2) clamped down on stellar forwards LeighAnne Baxter and Audrey Barry, falling behind 2-1 just before halftime.
"That's fine if they want to focus on those two kids, then somebody else is going to finish it for them and Annie stepped up and did it," Robinson head coach Jim Rike said. "We focused all year on having a group of people that could score-- not just one or two because it's too easy to shut down that kind of attack."
Though Barry was well-defended and eventually taken out with an injury in the second half, Robinson found plenty of help from a formidable supporting cast. Kristin Smith provided the tying goal in the 41st minute by heading in a corner kick. Jensen Smith also scored off a corner kick for the Rams in a set play the Vikings had trouble with all match.
"We practice corners like every single day, it's really our bread and butter." Hovland said. "We just had to attack the ball."
Kristin Smith's goal came just a minute into the second half-- there are two twenty minute halves in Virginia High School League soccer-- and helped turn a tide that was previously treacherous for the Rams, as Woodbridge's Kristen Lybert and Casey Burdette had scored in the 36th and 40th minute respectively.
"It really brought our momentum up and it brought the other team down a lot because they were winning, felt all good, and then we just scored right away," said Hovland.
Robinson will now try for its fifth state championship in school history Saturday afternoon, mere hours after the prom.
"They just have prom tonight and a one o'clock game tomorrow in the heat of the day," said Rike. "Hopefully they'll go home and re-hydrate."
Chick-Fil-A Player of the Game:
Alex Makcumbi and Annie Hovland for scoring the second-half game-winners.
A Note On Hospitality:
A lot of credit has to be given to the Westfield High School staff as well, for their school hosted eight games in three different sports on Friday. The directors of each sport had plenty of work on their hands also. Westfield will host the soccer (boys and girls), lacrosse (boys and girls), baseball, and softball AAA Virginia State championship games on Saturday.
For those keeping track at home, that's six finals match ups at one venue on the same day.
