Boys' Playoff Soccer: AAA State Semifinals

By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Editor
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area

Click the listed links for all photos and videos from the Virginia AAA state semifinals!

GALLERIES FROM GODWIN-HICKORY:
   VIDEO                 PHOTO     

GALLERIES FROM WESTFIELD-COX:
   VIDEO                 PHOTO     

As if the state semifinals at Westfield weren't delayed enough, the boys' soccer match between Mills Godwin and Hickory was stopped 34 times on Saturday, not counting goals and halves.

There were 34 fouls committed in that meeting of the runners up in the Central and Eastern Region.

Included in those repeated whistles were seven yellow cards -- five in the final 19 minutes.

Still, the undersized Eagles dominated possession and the scoring chances, topping the Hawks, 2-0, to advance to their first state championship game since they won it all in 2003.

Godwin will face Cox in the title game, who beat host Westfield, 4-0, in the nightcap of the soccer quadruple-header on Saturday.

"They were a bigger team and they'd probably challenge on free kicks, that they'd go up in the air and challenge," Eagle junior defender Brian Clark said. "We wanted to keep that to a minimum, but they kept bringing physical play. It was difficult."

Added second-year Godwin coach Herb Mondak: "That's the way they play, they're so physical. We knew there would be a lot of stoppages, but we just talked about getting the ball back into play quickly and not letting them break our flow."

Despite having a 22-2 advantage in shots -- and their keeper, Jack Van Arsdale, earning a clean sheet without having to make a save -- the Eagles did not break through until the 63rd minute.

A failed Hickory clearance saw the ball fall to Godwin senior -- and Colonial District Player of the Year -- Sandy Shiner, who headed it forward to senior Matt Nye 25 yards from goal.

"Our forwards took the ball down the left side and slotted the ball across," Clark said. "I was just kind of hanging back on the play and I was running onto it. It came right to me and I just put it far post."

Added Mondak, whose team received added insurance in the 78th minute on a goal by freshman Valeriy Sviderskiy: "It was unbelievably gratifying. We told them at halftime, just keep coming, keep coming, and finally we broke through on a great shot by Brian.

"We knew we're going to be able to attack the flanks. That was the whole point, to get it wide and come back across. We knew their tracking wasn't very good when we got them down the flanks."

While the Eagles ultimately capitalized on empty first-half chances, the Bulldogs were not as fortunate in the other semifinal.

Westfield senior Irvin Herrera dazzled Cox defenders, creating back-to-back one-on-one opportunities with Falcon keeper Jonathan Harris in the 12th minute, before unlucky final touches left the Bulldog goalless.

Two minutes later, Cox ripped momentum away from host Westfield with a goal by sophomore Hunter Byrnes, assisted by senior Will Martin.

Martin assisted on another goal just before halftime, and scored twice himself in the second half.

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, were without their main midfield distributor, Northern Region Player of the Year Sean Murnane due to a torn lateral meniscus. It is an injury he suffered while scoring the golden goal in the 100th minute of Westfield's 1-0 road win over Cosby in the state quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Should Cox beat Godwin on Sunday, it will be the first Eastern Region team to win the state title since it was beaten by Kempsville, 2-0, in the 1997 championship game. That was also the only time in the 26-year history of the AAA boys' soccer title that the final will not include a team from Northern Virginia.

"I kept on telling people we were going up against an arsenal in Cox," said Bulldog coach Tom Torres, who returns seven starters next year. "We normally had two bazookas and we were going in with one bazooka. And one bazooka just wasn't going to be enough to beat the arsenal that Cox had -- I mean, national pool kids and very good academy players with Nike and down in Richmond.

"If we aren't looking at the next state champion, then hats off to Godwin, because Godwin and Hickory game was pretty rough around the edges. Those guys fly."

Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

GAME ONE

Godwin  (18-2-2)   0  0  --  2
Hickory  (15-6-1)   0  0  --  0

Goals:                 
MG -- Clark (63)
MG -- Sviderskiy (78)

GAME TWO

Westfield        (16-4-0)   0  0  --  0
Frank W. Cox  (20-2-1)   2  2  --  4

Goals:                 
CX -- Byrnes (14)
CX -- Braunstein (38)
CX -- Martin (61)
CX -- Martin (77)