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Kettle Run ties Handley as girls soccer race intensifies
There will probably be fewer people disappointed by a tie on Father’s Day than there were Friday.
Kettle Run’s home match against the John Handley girls soccer team ended in a 2-2 tie after time expired in double overtime, and all the Cougars seemed dejected.
One Kettle Run player cried over the tie. One didn’t want to talk about the tie. And these are players from a school with no senior class where expectations should be tempered.
These Cougars were broken up about the tie, though, because they expected to win. Being young and inexperienced was no excuse, and an exceptional 8-3-1 record was no consolation.
“They feel that they’re underachieving. We felt that this should have been our match,” Cougars coach Bob Ruhland said. “They’re pretty upset about it….They’re shook right now.”
It was a remarkable reaction considering the girls soccer team is rare success story at the first-year school, comparable only to the volleyball team, which went 15-7 in the fall.
In contrast, through games played Friday, the Kettle Run girls lacrosse team was 1-7, boys lacrosse was 2-6, softball was 2-9, baseball was 6-8 and boys soccer was 6-5. The girls basketball team finished 2-18, boys basketball went 3-19 and football went 0-8.
But Ruhland is more interested in how his team stacks up against other girls soccer teams in the Northwestern District. After Friday’s tie, Kettle Run remained fourth in the eight-team district, while the John Handley Judges (8-2-2) held on to third.
“If we would have won tonight’s match, we have a game against Sherando and we could possibly be looking at second in the district,” Ruhland said. “But it’s going to be a tough pull now.”
Failing to beat John Handley was particularly hard to accept because the Cougars appeared poised to do just that. They took a 2-1 lead midway through the second overtime, but Handley’s Cindy Quarles secured a rebound during a scramble in front of the net with 48.5 seconds left and kicked in the tying goal.
The rebound came off a free kick from about 35 yards out. Kettle Run goalkeeper Hannah Carr appeared to secure the ball amidst a group of Handley forwards and Cougar backs, but it popped loose and Quarles gathered it for the open shot.
“They didn’t talk, they collided and she lost the ball,” Ruhland said of Carr. “We made dumb mistakes, left people uncovered and we paid dearly for them.”
It was an unfortunate ending for Carr, who played a phenomenal game in goal. Only a freshman, she saved nearly every shot the Judges could muster and thwarted just as many scoring opportunities by covering up through passes.
“She’s going to be like cement for this program for four years,” Ruhland said...
See the Wednesday print edition of the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story.
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