Vikings top Indians in boys soccer title game
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By HUGH RIST
For the News & Messenger
Published: May 22, 2008
When the dust had cleared, Woodbridge had a 2-0 victory, with senior forward Mardong Guevara scoring twice. The Vikings (13-2-1) won the Cardinal District title for the second consecutive year, primarily on the strength of a 20-10 shot advantage, including an 11-3 differential in the second half.
Gar-Field (9-3-3), which was guaranteed a berth in Monday’s regional quarterfinals by virtue of its semifinal victory over Forest Park, was held to three shots late in the second half. The Indians, who will travel to Osbourn for a 7 p.m. game, will have to find a way to muster offense after scoring just one goal in the past 180 minutes. They will also have to overcome the loss of senior midfielder Jose Ordonez and junior defender Carlos Menjivar, who were both issued red cards against Wood-bridge.
“We will have to find a way to get some better chances. Some kids will have to step up, but I be-lieve they can,” Markiewicz said. “I don’t think they (Woodbridge) wanted the game any more than we did, but they got a good chance and scored on it.”
Woodbridge will play host to Osbourn Park at 7:30 p.m. Monday in a rematch of last year’s Northwest Region quarterfinals, won by the Yellow Jackets.
In the first half of the district title game, Gar-Field managed eight shots, including a couple chances that caught Woodbridge goalie Danny Gallardo out of position, but the balls went wide. The Indians also limited Woodbridge’s chances by dominating the midfield and attempting to neutralize the Vikings’ speed.
But in the second half, Woodbridge made an adjustment and began moving the ball into its at-tacking zone, spreading it to the wings and peppering Luis Guevara with shots. Guevara made 13 saves in the game, but on the Vikings’ first goal, it was a rebound of an entry pass by Andy Sofra-nac that gave Guevara possession and he headed it into the right corner of the goal.
Woodbridge added a late goal when Guevara dribbled past two defenders to get a one-on-one chance against Guevara, drilling the ball into the right corner of the goal to make it 2-0.
“I didn’t see much hope for scoring (at first), but I knew if I could make a quick turn, I could get around them and get a one-on-one against him,” Guevara said. “I did it, and it made me feel really good.”
Woodbridge coach Don Allen said his team’s chief goal is “dominate the midfield. We didn’t do that in the first half and so we talked about it at halftime. That’s why we were able to do so well in the second half.”
Both coaches agreed that the pace of the game was altered by the referree’s penchant for doling out cards.
“It got to be ridiculous because he got carried away (giving out cards) to both teams,” Markiewicz said. “It looked to me like he tried to include himself in the outcome of the game. He definitely called it close. It is always a physical game between us, but I think the cards got out of hand.”
Allen said Guevara, who scored his 18th and 19th goals of the season, Sofranac and Brian Lybert were able to speed up the pace that had initially been slowed by moving the ball more effectively in the second half.
“They are definitely the trio that drives the train,” Allen said. “When they are moving the ball, it results in (good) chances. We have faced some of the best goalkeepers in Virginia this season and we are facing one (Monday). We’ll see how (Osbourn Park goalie) Joey (Dennis) does.”
Guevara said he hopes he can “play smarter” against Osbourn Park since he drew a red card early in their 3-0 loss to the Yellow Jackets earlier this season and missed much of the game.
“We don’t really have revenge on our minds against OP,” Guevara said. “But we do want to prove that we can play well against a good team, just like we did tonight.”
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