The Woodbridge girls soccer team beat Battlefield, 4-0, in a rematch of last year's Northwest Region final.
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By Paul Frommelt
Prince William Content Editor

With a 2-0 lead at halftime, Woodbridge girls soccer head coach Scott Kerns preached the necessity of staying focused. Even after a stellar first half against Battlefield at home, Kerns made sure that his team didn't get comfortable.

"That's the worst score in soccer," said junior captain Kristen Lybert of the Vikes' 2-0 lead. She explained that all it takes is one goal to shift the momentum and turn a two-goal lead into a loss. "You are on your heels, because they have all the momentum after that first goal. One more goal, they're in it. One more goal, they're winning. We had them on their heels at 2-0, but one goal and it's a whole other game."

Lybert made sure that didn't happen, scoring her second goal of the game eight minutes into the second half en route to a 4-0 victory for the Vikings in a rematch of last season's Northwest Region championship.

Even after Lybert's goal, Kerns still wasn't comfortable.

"I never get comfortable," said Kerns with a laugh after the game. "[With a late lead], you really want to set that goal to get the shutout. You always want the kids to be working hard for the shutout. I never really get comfortable."

Kerns had a reason to be a bit uneasy, after what he called a "horrific" practice on Monday.

"I was scared to death with what was going to happen today," he said. "I was pretty shocked that we came out and played as sharp as we did, because yesterday was terrible. I am pretty surprised and pretty pleased with the way that we played."

After the graduation of All-State defender Kathleen Smith and midfielder Katie Douez, the young Vikings loaded up their early-season schedule with games against the Bobcats, Robinson and Deep Run — all state tournament teams last year. A 4-1 loss to Robinson, coupled with a tie against Riverbend, seemed to promise a slow start for the Vikings.

"We were definitely upset because we wanted to show them that we should have been in that state final, but I think that we were proud of how we played because we still did what we wanted to," said Lybert. "We wanted to see how we would go against the best team in the state."

Since the Robinson loss, the Vikings are 2-0 with seven goals scored and two shutouts. Kerns said that the scoring opportunities have been there all year — it's that his squad is starting to finish those chances.

"We've struggled finishing all year. We did a much better job tonight," he said.

Woodbridge's (3-1-1) first goal came off of an indirect kick caused by Battlefield goalkeeper Roya Rezadoost picking up a ball sent back to her by a teammate. Lybert knocked the ball into the top of the net over Rezadoost's outstretched arms to give the Vikings the 1-0 lead. Just before the half, sophomore Briana Nottingham scored on a feed from freshman Jade Woll for the 2-0 advantage. Lybert scored her second goal in the 48th minute on a wide-open shot after maneuvering past a charging Rezadoost. Sophomore Kellsey Costello-Mays capped the Vikings' scoring on a direct kick with 19 minutes remaining.

The Vikings travel to Richmond on Friday for a matchup against Deep Run, a rematch of last year's state quarterfinals. The Bobcats (1-2-1) will open up their district schedule against Osbourn on Wednesday night.  

Email: pfrommelt@digitalsports.com


Team

1st

2nd

Final

Woodbridge

2

2

4

Battlefield

0

0

0


Scoring Summary: Woodbridge 4, Battlefield 0
First Half:
Woodbridge — Kristen Lybert (Costello-Mays), 24th minute (1-0)
Woodbridge — Briana Nottingham (Woll), 36th minute (2-0)
Second Half:
Woodbridge — Kristen Lybert (Archer), 48th minute (3-0)
Woodbridge — Kellsey Costello-Mays, 61th minute (4-0)