Radford, Va.- The Goochland girls’ soccer team scored three goals within a ten minute span in the first half then played steady defense to hold off the Virginia High Bearcats 5-3 in state semi-final action.

Despite getting off to a slow start, in the blazing heat Goochland got on the scoreboard first without actually making a goal themselves. With 24:26 on the first half clock, the Bulldogs’ Andrea Odemark drove in from the left side and her shot went wide. When a Virginia High player attempted to clear the ball it went off the side of her foot into the goal to give Goochland a 1-0 lead.

However, it took Virginia High less than two minutes to answer on a kick from Hannah Shankel to tie the game 1-1.

The score was all the priming the Bulldogs’ offensive pump needed and Megan DuLong took advantage when Bearcat keeper Selena Trichel fell and drove in a goal to give Goochland a 2-1 lead they would not relinquish.

Barely over a minute passed before Odemark added another score to put the Bulldogs ahead 3-1 at the break.

“The object is to score quickly then to keep scoring and keep scoring,” said head coach Tom Reid. “We know most teams they’re going to get tired as time progressed and they did.”

Riding the emotion into the second period, Holly Donovan added onto the Goochland The Bulldogs pushed out to 5-1 lead less than five minutes later when Odemark worked her magic again. When her initial shot was blocked back at her, Odemark headed the rebound into the goal for a score.

With a comfortable lead, Goochland started cruising and Virginia High took advantage. Carrie Wiseman trimmed the lead to 5-2 on a free kick from the top.

Then with 11 minutes to play, the normally reliable back-fielder Brandi Flemming whiffed on a kick-out and Grayson Collins booted the ball past Jessica Richardson to make the score 5-3.

But Goochland buckled down and held the Bearcats scoreless over the remainder of the game.

Not only did Goochland advance to the state championship game for the first time in school history, it was also the first time any Lady Bulldogs’ team has made it past the regional quarterfinals.

Though his has carried the team into uncharted territory, Reid said making it to the state championship was not completely unexpected, at least to him. “I never thought about it until the fist part of the year and I told the girls we were going to state and they looked at me like and laughed and said ‘Coach?’ I said, ‘We can go to state. We have the caliber of players to go there.’ And they now believe it.”

Though Goochland would face off against a George Mason team that defeated them 11-0 in the regional finals, Reid said his instructions to his players would be no different. “You just keep working, working, working,” he said. “Encouraging them and telling them they can win and that’s what we do just over and over and over. Just try to motivate them to do the best they can every day.”
Virginia————————————- 1 2—3
Goochland————————————- 3 2—5
Saves: Trichel (V) 11; Richardson (G) 9.
Shots on goal: Virginia 15; Goochland 22.