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Eagles earn state berth

BY GEORGE WATSON/CORRESPONDENT

WILLIAMSBURG — Danny Town admits defending a penalty kick in soccer is all about guessing and being lucky. The Jamestown goalie not only guessed right, but luck was with him in the Region I boys’ soccer semifinals at Cooley Field on Thursday night.

With the Eagles clinging to a 1-0 lead over Bluestone just minutes before halftime, Southside District player of the year Stephen Holden blasted a penalty shot to the right side of the net but Town lunged to his left and deflected the kick over the net.

"That PK was the pivotal point in the game," said Jamestown coach Charles Sneddon, whose Eagles kept their perfect record (17-0) intact with a 3-1 victory over the visiting Barons (17-4), while assuring themselves in place in next week’s Group AA state tournament.

Jamestown will play for next week’s home-field advantage when it hosts Riverbend, a 2-0 winner over Lafayette, at 7 tonight at Cooley Field in the region final.

With their top two scorers Chris Miller and Tyler Clare injured, the Eagles’ offense struggled somewhat. Still, most of the game was played in the Barons’ defensive half of the field with Jamestown holding a 31-9 shot advantage.

Junior Winston Mattheisen got the only goal of the first half, firing a shot from the left side into the right corner of the net. Town’s crucial penalty-kick save made the 1-0 score stand at halftime.

When Mattheisen scored again in the first minute of the second half, it appeared the Eagles were going to pull away. But Bluestone’s Joe Wagstaff countered with a goal less than two minutes later. Wagstaff streaked down the right side and then lofted a long shot over Town’s head when the goalie came out.

Bluestone continued to put the pressure on early in the half until Scott Cutler’s penalty kick with 20:50 left in the game put the Eagles up 3-1.

"I just tried to stay relaxed and composed and focus on my spot," Cutler said. "I just took a couple of deep breaths and hit it."

"Missing our top two scorers I felt like I had to step it up," said Mattheisen of his two scores. "And Danny (midfielder Danny Franklin) was really tearing it up on the left side."

"At certain points we played up to expectations tonight but we still are looking to play 80 minutes of hard-nosed soccer," Sneddon said. "Not having a couple of players in the lineup is still no excuse for not being consistent."


JAMESTOWN 3, BLUESTONE 1

Halftime – Jamestown 1-0. Goals – Bluestone, Wagstaff; Jamestown, Mattheisen 2, Cutler. Assists – None. Shots – Bluestone 9, Jamestown 31. Saves – Bluestone, Bowlin 13; Jamestown, Town 8. Records – Bluestone 17-4, Jamestown 17-0.