It took 15 minutes of overtime and a round of penalty kicks to end Heritage's turnaround 2023 campaign Wednesday night, as Waynesboro left Lynchburg with a 3-2 victory, after winning the round of PKs 4-3.
Heritage's Nic Plude scored on a penalty kick in the 80th and final minute of regulation to knot the match at 2. Plude also scored a first-half equalizer on a penalty kick in the 26th minute, roughly four minutes after Waynesboro took a 1-0 lead in the Region 3C first-round match.
Heritage, the seventh seed, and Waynesboro, the 10 seed, then played three five-minute overtime periods before going to PKs. Little Giants goalie Victor Saenz Briones stepped up in the PK round to save numerous shots. The Pioneers (11-6) scored three times in the round — with two goals from Marcus Gafford and one from Eduardo Martinez.
Waynesboro (6-8-1) travels to No. 2 seed Charlottesville in the region quarterfinals.
People are also reading…
Heritage took off this season, winning 10 of its first 11 matches, and finished with a winning record after suffering roughly a decade of losing seasons.
"It's been a fantastic season," coach Jack Bottoms said. "I was there [at the field] until they turned the lights out on us. Just talking with guys. Just reminded them that, 'Hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to be disappointed by. Yeah, it didn't go our way, but that's OK. You did everything we asked you to, stuck to the game plan the whole time, we just couldn't execute to save our lives.'"
Chase Stickle finished with six saves for Heritage. Waynesboro's Marko Duvnjac gave his team a 2-1 lead in the 50th minute, an advantage that lasted until just before the final whistle of regulation.
Staunton River 2, Lord Botetourt 1
In Daleville, the Staunton River boys kept their season alive with a double overtime victory against the host Cavaliers (8-11) on Wednesday.
After a scoreless first half, SRHS received a goal from Josh Davis, with an assist from Andy Torres. The Blue Ridge District foes were tied at 1 at the end of regulation and played two five-minute overtime periods.
Torres had the deciding goal in double OT, on a penalty kick.
Nate Martin registered 12 saves for SRHS (6-12-1), which advances to the next round of the tourney.
Elsewhere in boys soccer action Wednesday, No. 8 seed Liberty Christian defeated No. 9 seed Fluvanna 4-3 in the Region 3C tournament first round. LCA will travel to No. 1 seed Spotswood for the quarterfinals next.
BOYS LACROSSE
E.C. Glass 10, Salem 5
Camp Conner and Robert Sorenson notched a hat trick each, and second-seeded E.C. Glass punched its ticket to the state tournament by defeating third-seeded Salem (11-5) in the Region 4D semifinals Wednesday at Vince Bradford Field.
The Hilltoppers (14-2) set the tone early and went up 4-1 after one quarter by scoring in unsettled situations.
“Really solidified the momentum, and kept building from there,” said Glass coach Eddie Ranuska, who looks to lead his team to a sixth straight region title Friday.
Sorenson and Penn Willman (two goals) were “really hot” in that stretch, Ranuska explained, adding several other players also were big contributors in the win.
Matthew Ebert tallied 14 saves, Conner was “all over the field” making plays, and Morgan Hancock gave Glass a leg up at the faceoff X by either winning the ball there himself or creating 50-50 ground balls the Hilltoppers pounced on.
Up next for Glass is top-seeded Cave Spring, one of just two teams to hand the ’Toppers a loss this season.
Cave Spring (15-2) — which defeated fifth-seeded Rockbridge County 11-5 in the other semifinal Wednesday — edged Glass 9-8 in the Hilltoppers’ season opener on March 20. Glass wasn’t fully healthy in that one, Ranuska said, and since then, the teams look pretty even on paper.
“I think our boys are gonna be hungry,” Ranuska said. “I think they’re gonna come out looking for vengeance and looking for a trophy.”
The championship game is set for Friday (time to be announced) at Cave Spring.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Salem 13, E.C. Glass 11
At Vince Bradford Field, the second-seeded Hilltoppers' goal of making the state tournament for a second straight year came to a close despite a furious comeback Wednesday, and the No. 3 seed Spartans instead earned an automatic berth into the Class 4 state tournament.
Salem (11-4-1) led 10-5 at halftime and again at 12-7. That's when Glass scored four unanswered goals to get within one, 12-11. But Salem pushed ahead in the end and held off the rally.
Glass was led by Nora Hamilton, who scored four goals and added an assist. Tess Ahrens scored three times and Alex Petty rounded out Glass' top performers with two goals. The Hilltoppers began their postseason quest with a 18-2 victory over William Byrd on Friday.
Glass ends its season at 11-4-1. Salem faces No. 1 Rockbridge in the region title game. Rockbridge defeated Cave Spring in the other semifinal matchup.
BASEBALL
Rustburg 6, Rockbridge 3
In Rockbridge, Rustburg senior Camden McCormick threw six strong innings and went 3 for 4 at the plate as the No. 9 seed Red Devils won their Region 3C first-round game over the Wildcats on Wednesday.
Rustburg (8-12) won for the fourth time in five games, this time with McCormick yielding three runs (two earned) on six hits, one walk and striking out eight over six innings. He also drove in a run for Rustburg, which scored three times in the fourth frame against Rockbridge starter Cohen Paxton for a 4-2 lead and never trailed after that point. Hunter Carlson earned the save and tossed a scoreless seventh.
Walter Jackson drove in two runs for Rustburg, which travels to top-seeded Liberty Christian (19-0) for a 6:30 p.m. region quarterfinal game Friday.
SOFTBALL
Liberty 3, Rockbridge 2
In Bedford, Brooklyn Gunter broke a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning, recording Liberty’s lone extra-base hit of the day with two outs for the winning run in the Lady Minutemen’s Region 3C first-round victory Wednesday.
Gunter’s double sent Chiara Albertin home from third. Albertin recorded a leadoff single on a line drive to center field and moved all the way to third when Ashley Goff reached on a bunt single. A double play followed, but Gunter kept Liberty’s season alive with her hit in the next at-bat.
Emma Mayhew and Goff recorded an RBI each (on a single and groundout, respectively) on back-to-back at-bats in the second inning, pulling seventh-seeded LHS (6-12) even with 10th-seeded Rockbridge (6-16) after giving up two runs to the visitors in the opening frame.
Rockbridge threatened to rally with two outs in the seventh. LHS pitcher Kady Gordon had retired 13 straight batters, but the Wildcats ended that streak by loading the bases on a single and consecutive walks. Gordon responded by inducing a groundout to preserve the win.
LHS will travel to No. 2 seed Monticello (17-2) for a quarterfinal game at 7 p.m. Friday.
BOYS TENNIS
LCA 5, Waynesboro 0
At Liberty University, top-seeded Liberty Christian had no trouble against visiting Waynesboro and earned a 5-0 victory in the Region 3C quarterfinal round Wednesday.
The Bulldogs continued their undefeated season by getting wins from Bennet Mowry over Steve Perry 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. Jon Hoover defeated Ben Wheeler 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2, while Hudson Brooks blanked Landon Bodkin 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4. Hawkins Glenn won at No. 5 over Gabe O'Brien 6-4, 7-0; and Andrew Seipp downed Cooper Mayo 6-0, 6-1 at No. 6. At No. 3, LCA's Landon Bivens took the first set over Cam Hatter, and that match did not finish once LCA had the match in hand.
The Bulldogs host their region semifinal match Friday.
GIRLS TENNIS
LCA 4, Monticello 2
Lily Anderson, Carolina Curtis, Lauren Hartless and Anna Moody all won their singles matches, and the fourth-seeded Bulldogs defeated Monticello at Liberty University in the Region 3C quarterfinal round Wednesday.
In the No. 2 singles spot, Lily Anderson defeated Bianca Barnett 7-5, 6-2, offsetting Monticello's victory at No. 1 singles (Stella Moon defeated LCA"s Abby Anderson 6-4, 6-4). Curtis defeated Row Bowers 6-2, 7-5 at No. 3 singles, and Lauren Hartless worked her way past Olana Gratz 6-3, 7-5.
Monticello's other victory occurred at No. 5 singles, as Nadia Mithqal defeated Ashley Pantana 6-4, 6-3. Anna Moody won for LCA in the sixth spot over Hannah Rogers, 6-0, 6-0.
Moody, coach Larry Bell noted, had never played organized tennis before this season. She picked up a racket on Feb. 20, he said. Moody, a volleyball player, is 16-1 this season.
LCA travels to No. 1 Spotswood for the region semifinals match Friday. Spotswood defeated No. 9 Wilson Memorial 5-0 on Wednesday.
In other region team tournament action Wednesday, No. 2 seed Abingdon took down top-seeded Staunton River 6-0 in the Region 3D championship. SRHS already had punched its spot in the Class 3 state tournament by winning in the semifinals, but its loss Wednesday means it will go on the road for the state quarterfinals.
Raiders' Gilbert advances to 2C singles semis
In the Region 2C singles tournament Wednesday, Appomattox's Kaydence Gilbert punched her ticket to the semifinals, defeating Martinsville’s Nayti Patel in a match contested at Virginia Tech.
Gilbert, a senior, was the No. 3 seed and took down sixth-seeded Patel in the quarterfinals to set up a match Friday with Glenvar’s Isabella Gustafson, the No. 2 seed. Gustafson and Gilbert will play at 8 a.m. at Virginia Tech, and the singles championship is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. the same day.
In another quarterfinal match Wednesday, Nelson’s Cadence Marrs, the No. 8 seed, fell to Radford’s Lydia Pratt, the No. 1 seed.
TRACK & FIELD
Altavista’s Berger wins pair of events
In Stony Creek, Dexaria Berger captured a pair of individual victories to help the Altavista girls to third place at the Region 1B championship Wednesday at Sussex Central. The Colonels boys also were third.
Berger’s athleticism was on display in the 400-meter dash and triple jump. She posted a 1:04.14 in her winning race, recording a 0.6-second margin of victory. Berger’s 34-foot, 4½-inch mark in the triple jump was more than 1 foot better than the rest of the field.
The senior came up 1½ inches short of a third win in the long jump. She recorded a 16-foot leap for second place. Berger also competed in the high jump for Altavista, which tallied 90 points as a team.
The Colonels girls team finished just one point back of second-place Riverheads, but Cumberland posted 118 points for the team title.
On the boys side, Altavista amassed 45 points, finishing behind team champ Riverheads (108 points) and runner-up Central Lunenburg (85 points).
Shane Stevens posted the team and area’s lone event win on the boys side. He captured the 1,600-meter run title, cruising to a triumph by nearly eight seconds with his 4:51.58.
The William Campbell boys had 26 points to finish seventh in the team standings, while the Generals girls had five points for 10th place.
The season wraps up for teams June 2 to 3 in the combined Class 1 and 2 state championships at James Madison University.
