By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Editor
Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area
*37 HIGHLIGHTS and 329 PHOTOS ADDED*
Trailing No. 4 W.T. Woodson by a goal with just 11 minutes remaining, Oakton turned to its talented corps of freshmen to mount a comeback.
Not that it had much of a choice.
The Cougars — who feature eight freshmen on their varsity roster, including six starters — scored in the 69th and 79th minutes to topple the Cavaliers, 2-1, at the Mott Center in Fairfax on Wednesday afternoon.
“At halftime … they looked a little tired, but they were going to have to **** it up [in the] second half and dig deep,” Oakton coach Brooke Alexander said. “We’re a young team. And we know that we have talent, but we’re young.
“We have to learn how to come out against really great teams and learn to stay competitive all the way to the 80th minute.”
Added Cougar freshman Danielle Fitzgerald: “Our coach is motivating us … We’ve got some really young talent and she’s encouraging us to use it, show it to others and prove it to ourselves.”
The Cavaliers featured a freshman of their own in the 14th minute, when midfielder Elizabeth Gaski put them ahead on a mishandled corner kick.
But for the remainder of the match, Woodson relied on the stellar play of starting keeper Marlee Stynchula and freshman Jessica Ferrari — who entered at halftime — to maintain its one-goal advantage.
Oakton, though, equalized in the 69th minute when junior Erin Reynolds dispossessed a defender in the Woodson third, and fed Fitzgerald with a low cross that the ninth-grade striker finished with ease.
After two scoring chances in the next 10 minutes — and two top-flight saves by Ferrari — the Cougars netted the game-winner on an 18-yard strike by freshman Alex Meyers that floated into the upper-90 for her 12th goal this year.
“When I saw the ball coming at me — I saw Jenna [Cahill] had it — I was like, ‘Oh gosh, what do I have to do with it now?'” said Meyers, Ferrari’s teammate on BRYC Santos, the fourth-ranked ’94 club team in Virginia. “I just saw the far corner was open, so I took the shot. I thought the keeper was about to hit it over, but luckily it went right in the corner.
“And I just felt relief come over, but right after the relief we had to get back focused to make sure they didn’t score again.”
Added Alexander: “Meyers kind of has a knack for coming in after someone and finishing it off. She’s competitive. The girls are competitive up front and they always to do well, because they like to get the job done.”
Playing in the Concorde District makes that urge a necessity.
It is likely the deepest district in the Northern Region, something Oakton (9-2-0) found out the hard way when it fell to No. 8 Chantilly, 2-1, on April 24 and No. 1 Robinson, 5-1, on April 28 at home.
But the Cougars have an opportunity for vengeance in next week’s district tournament against the Chargers and defending state-champion Rams. And both the young team’s coach and its players feel confident that a club-wide mental alteration could yield different results on the pitch.
“Our goal was to come out and actually try to prove it to ourselves that we could beat a team that was as good as Woodson,” said Alexander, in her second season. “Our focus was actually inward, and I think it helped. The other two games we had been focusing on trying to prove something to other people and I think that the focus needed to come inward for us.”
Added Fitzgerald, whose goal was her sixth this year: “I think this win will help us because the two teams that beat us during the season will look at us as a stronger team and back off.
“They’re going to be intimidated and know that we were better than when we played them.”
Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com
Oakton 0 2 — 2
Woodson 1 0 — 1
Goals:
WT — Gaski (14)
OK — Fitzgerald (69)
OK — Meyers (79)
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