BOYS SOCCER: JF ends Giants’ season

FOREST — Waynesboro had Jefferson Forest on its heels for the first 40 minutes of play.

Then the two teams switched sides.

So did the momentum.

After a flurry of first-half attacks could not equal a tally for the Little Giants, the Cavaliers scored with 15:38 left to play, opening the floodgates and ending Waynesboro’s season in the Region III quarterfinals with a 4-0 win.

“Once that first one went in, I think we knew that it wasn’t our day,” said Waynesboro coach Bill Meicke.

Fillipo Zadra put in the only goal the Cavs would need, corralling a high pass into the penalty area and lofting it over the head of Waynesboro keeper Jose Cruz.

Two minutes later, the Cavaliers thrust in the saber when Ian Case pushed a dribbler just to the left of Cruz. As Case celebrated with his hands at his side, Cruz stayed on the ground, face first, before punching the mud in the goal box and getting to his feet.

A rowdy, drum-and-horn wielding Jefferson Forest student section began chanting “Ian Case.”

The Giants never recovered.

“We played them well for a half,” Meicke said. “In the second half, I’m not sure what happened.”

The final 40 were an about face from a first half that saw the Little Giants come out with a relentless assault on the Cavalier net.

Less than two minutes after the start, Waynesboro’s Kyle Wright found a streaking Alex Farrington, but the sophomore midfielder couldn’t get a good foot on it and his shot sailed wide.

The Giants weren’t done and, four minutes after that attack, Sawyer Janes mounted another — this time finding an open Wright who sent his shot wide.

“We missed two golden opportunities up there,” Meicke said. “I feel like if we could have slipped them in [the Cavs] would have went into panic mode.”

In the second half, the Giants could barley muster any offense.

Meanwhile, Jefferson Forest’s attacks were clicking away.

The Cavs, the regular-season champs in the Seminole District, added two more goals before the final whistle blew.

As the Giants trudged to the bench after shaking hands, senior Daniel Hayward buried his head into his jersey and sobbed. Fellow seniors Wright and Stuart King patted him on the back.

“I’m going to miss playing with you guys,” Cruz said as the keeper made his rounds with hugs.

His eyes filling with tears, Wright said the Little Giants had nothing to be ashamed of.

“We folded at the end,” said Wright, one of nine seniors graduating from the program. “But we held them off the board for 60 minutes.”