STATE EXTRA: ‘Nothing to lose’

FISHERSVILLE — On the eve of Wilson’s Group A semifinal match, Green Hornets coach Scott Crist had a reason to smile — his players, after running their final cool down session of the season, were laughing.

The Green Hornets will take on the defending Group A champion George Mason today, less than a week after falling to the Mustangs in the Region B finals in Fishersville.

“Before we played Mason, the girls didn’t know what to expect,” Crist said. “You hear that they are defending champs and are just unsure. Now that we have played them and hung with them I think now they are more confident. Now they know what Mason can do.”

A win at Radford University today would put the Green Hornets, primarily a group of sophomores and juniors, in the title game where they would face the winner of the Radford and James River semifinal on Saturday.

Wilson lost 3-1 the last time it faced the Mustangs. Wilson started that match flat and it wasn’t until the final 20 minutes of the second half that the Green Hornets began to show life. Even when the loss was inevitable, Wilson fought and eventually scored its only goal of the game.

“We want to see them attack and be aggressive and we don’t want Mason to bring the game to us,” Crist said. “I think that’s the only way to beat a team as good as George Mason.”

Having squared off once already, Crist said he thinks the Green Hornets are ready for a second shot at Mason.

“We talked about how we have seen George Mason and the unknown is over,” he said.

On Tuesday, Wilson had one of its worst performances of the year in the Group A quarterfinals against Region A champion Northampton. After playing two games in the post season that did not meet expectations, Crist said that the Hornets would not make the same mistake at Radford.

“I don’t think they feel any pressure,” Crist said. “I think that George Mason has all the pressure on them. They are the defending state champs and everyone expects them to win. They have a lot more to lose then we do; we have nothing to lose. We are going to play that way.”

After defeating the Yellow Jackets, the Green Hornets’ McCauley Vailes said that the team was ready for a rematch against George Mason.

“I think now we know how they play and we are set,” she said.

The Green Hornets will leave for Radford University at 6:15 a.m. today, while George Mason traveled on Thursday.

During Thursday’s practice at Wilson Memorial High School, the Green Hornets stayed outside, instead of finding shelter in the high school’s gymnasium. With a 90-percent chance of rain in Radford on Friday, according to the National Weather Service, Crist hoped that the team would be better prepared to play in the slop if it got a day to practice in it the day before.

“We love it like this,” Crist said. “We are mudders. We are hoping for rain tomorrow.”