By Luke Nadkarni / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Charlottesville’s boys soccer team resumed its Conference 23 semifinal match against John Handley, which had been interrupted by inclement weather on Wednesday, on Thursday afternoon and came away with a 3-1 victory to secure a berth in the 4A North regional tournament.
The Black Knights spread the wealth on offense, getting goals from three different players, and recovered from an early lapse on defense to control the game, which was played in a steady rain. The weather visibly affected play on the field, with players from both teams losing their footing on the slippery turf.
That wasn’t enough to stop Charlottesville’s Musa Mohamed, who scored barely 20 seconds after the restart with 26:09 left in the first half. Mohamed rebounded a shot that had careened off the crossbar and beat Handley keeper Michael Davis for a 1-0 lead.
“It was hard having played 15 minutes last night and then having to wait,” CHS head coach Stephan Cost said. “But we came out and boom — we got a goal.”
The Judges answered barely a minute later when striker Omar Trejo-Ocampo lofted a shot from 35 yards out over the outstretched arm of Charlottesville goalie Erik Quigg. Trejo-Ocampo almost put his team ahead moments afterward, but this time Quigg was there to make a spectacular sliding save.
Connory Timmons gave the Black Knights a lead they would not relinquish with 16:47 left before halftime when he found the back of the net for a 2-1 advantage, which Charlottesville took into the break.
“This team is resilient, they’re fast on the attack, and everyone’s contributing,” Cost said. “It was a true team effort today.”
The second half started in similar fashion for the Knights when Hussein Ossman struck 23 seconds in off an assist from Scott Christman, notching what turned out to be the final goal of the game. Charlottesville’s defense stiffened in the final 40 minutes, seldom allowing the Judges near their goal. For the game, the Knights outshot Handley 9-4.
As time wound down, the Judges turned up the offensive intensity in an attempt to climb back into the game, but the Charlottesville defense was equal to each challenge. Handley’s best chance of the half came with two minutes remaining when forward Bishop Ransom outran everyone and drew Quigg out of the net, but his shot zipped well wide of the net.
“We talked about [defense] at halftime,” Cost said. “[Handley] was playing a long ball and focusing on one guy, so we made sure to shut down the pass before it came. It took their rhythm away.”
The Black Knights will return to the field Friday when they host Harrisonburg in the conference final. The winner of that game will host a regional matchup, while the loser will open on the road.
