Quantico Sentry
Quantico | April 16, 2012
The Quantico Middle/High School Warriors Varsity Soccer Team had their fourth match of the season against the Highland Springs High School Springers at Highland Springs on March 29.
"We usually match up pretty well against this team," said Robert Hume, head coach for the Warriors. "We changed a couple of things up after our last game. I'm happy the way things are progressing and how hard the boys are working. We are getting better at putting the ball in the back of the net and, if our defense can hold up, we could win this."
On the other end of the field was Justin Beck, head coach for the Springers.
"This was a great opportunity for a team down here in Richmond to meet up with a team from up in Northern Virginia and have a good kick around," Beck said. "This should be a great game. "
The first half of the game did not go in the Warriors' favor. The Warriors held their own for a good chunk of the half, but around the 16-minute mark, the Springers scored the first goal of game. The Warriors picked themselves up and got refocused, but from that point they found themselves playing defense majority of the time.
With less than three minutes left in the half, it seemed as the score was going to stay 1-0 into the half. But the Springers had something else planned. The Springers, toward the final seconds of the half, scored another goal, putting the Warriors down 2-0 in the half.
"We are doing well, but that last goal should not have happened," Hume said. "We need to stop playing around with the ball. Start switching fields faster and have better passes. You also have to have some type awareness of where your teammates are on the field."
The Springers came out a little more aggressively in second half, getting called for fouls. But the Springers weren't the only ones picking up the pace. The Warriors began attacking the keeper consistently keeping him on his toes. There were three shots attempted by the Warriors in just the first two minutes of play in the second half.
Switching up the momentum and having the Springers play defense more, the ball stayed in the Springers' territory most of that half. But even with them playing defense majority of the time, the Springers still found their way to Quantico's goal around the 14-minute mark.
The Springers didn't stop there. After catching the Warriors off guard, and making it a four-on-one in the Warrior's territory, they score again, making it a 4-0 game.
Things were not looking good for the Warriors and they knew they were going to have to do something soon if they planned on turning things around.
Keeping their spirit strong, the Warriors continued to take shot after shot but the Springers' keeper was making spectacular saves left and right. That was until two of the Warriors' attackers got around the Springers' defense and scored their first goal of the day. The Warriors' players on the sideline went crazy, getting more and more pumped up.
Minutes later, the Warriors did it again, with Quinn, a senior player for Quantico, scoring the second goal for the team.
"I think we are doing very well," said Janette Bush, a Warriors fan, "This is probably one of the best games we have played so far this season. They are definitely playing way more aggressively right now."
The Springers didn't take the goals scored by the Warriors lightly. And before the end of the game, the Springers scored one last goal, leaving the game 5-2 in their favor.
"From what I've seen, the boys had a really good time and I felt both teams exhibited great sportsmanship," Beck said. "There was a moment in the game where one of my players' glasses came off and a Quantico player actually stopped and let my player pick up his glasses and put them back on before they started playing again. I love to see stuff like that. I look forward to our next meeting."
"We played very well and found our stride in the second half," Hume said. "A lot of it was getting the right guys on the right spots on the field. We struggled in that in the first half. And I believe the next time we play them at Quantico, we have a great chance of taking them."
Correspondent: antwaun.jefferson@usmc.mil