Woodbridge girls soccer nips Bruins
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By Joe Conroy
Published: May 22, 2008
It’s time for the second season.
That’s the message Woodbridge girls soccer coach Scott Kerns is sending to his team after a 1-0 win in the Cardinal District Tournament final Thursday over Forest Park.
The Vikings (16-1) have been playing with the knowledge that they were Northwest Region-bound since clinching the Cardinal regular season title after completing a sweep of the Bruins this spring. Kerns wants his squad to play with a sense of urgency now.
“We lost a lot of talent last year but we felt what we had coming back and some additions that we’d be right back here (as district champs),” Kerns said. “We haven’t had a lot of do-or-die games. Now, you lose, you’re done, so it’s important to get wins now and we can’t (afford to) slip up and have a hiccup.”
Kristen Lybert, a sophomore forward, provided the difference in the championship game, slipping past the Bruin defense and collecting a ball sent in from midfielder Katie Douez and forward Shondel Archer.
“I just wasn’t marked and the goalie came out and I had the other corner open,” Lybert said.
“I think we were a little fortunate with the goal we got — she might have been a step offsides. From my angle, of course,” Kerns said with a smile, “she looked on(side).”
Woodbridge hosts Riverbend at 5:30 p.m. on Memorial Day to open the region tournament and the Vikings are playing strong since starting their season with a loss to Colonial Forge, winning 15 straight.
“We beat them last year and we played a good game, our shots just didn’t go in,” Lybert said of the lone loss. “It definitely made us better because we’ve been on a winning streak ever since.”
David Cresswell, Forest Park’s coach, felt his team played better in the title game than they had against Woodbridge in either of the two regular season matches.
“I thought that our chances were better chances than theirs,” Cresswell said. “We just can’t finish. We’re finding the foot, we’re finding wide, we’re finding the goalkeeper — we’re finding everything but the back of the net.”
Cresswell credited the Woodbridge defense with preventing clean looks at the goal but hopes his team can rebound at Colonial Forge next Monday at 6 p.m.
“They’re a good squad and they beat Woodbridge earlier in the year,” Cresswell said of the Bruins’ next opponents. “I think maybe we can catch them a little over-confident.”
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