Boys Soccer Team Looks Back on Season

It was the most dramatic moment of the Centreville boy’s soccer team’s season. Yet, head coach Brian Cochran couldn’t bear to watch as his team lined up to take penalty kicks after their district quarterfinal match against Westfield was knotted at 1-1 at the end of regulation time.

I wasn’t even looking,” Cochran admitted, noting that he can’t bear to watch matches decided by the roulette wheel that is the penalty kick shootout.  “When it gets to overtime, I don’t even look. I just look up at the stands and listen for whichever fans are cheering louder.”

On this night, it was the Centreville fans who were making all the noise, as Ravideep Marwaha, Connor Coward, Tyler Lawrence, and Andres Garcia buried their penalty kicks, and keeper Adam Beaton smothered one of Westfield’s shots to seal the dramatic victory.

“I heard the crowd yelling and then I turned around and saw my five guys that were in the middle of the field just start running towards the goal,” Cochran said, recalling how he realized his team had won the game.

But the win came on a school night, so rather than celebrating with a magnum of  non-alcoholic champagne, the players simply prepared themselves for Herndon in the next round.  The Wildcats fell to the Hornets, in a closely contested match, 2-0, after the match was delayed by one day due to rain.

“I think we were more ready to play the first night, but it rained, and then I don’t think they were as pumped the second night,” Cochran said.  “It’s hard for them to get up for a game on multiple nights.”

Then in the opening round of the regional tournament, the Cats run up against a buzz saw in Washington Lee, losing 4-0 in the season finale.  Cochran said that the team simply “didn’t have the horses” to compete against Lee, which made it to the regional semifinal before succumbing to Lake Braddock, 3-2.

But it was a successful season for Centreville, which finished 8-7-1, and had six players named to the All-District squads. Senior midfielder Tyler Lawrence, who scored six goals for the team this season, made the 1^st team All-District after making the 2^nd team last year.

“Tyler showed a lot of improvement this year,” Cochran said. He was one of our leaders on the field, a lot of stuff went through him and Jacob (Straub).”

Junior sensation Connor Coward led the team in scoring with 12 goals, and made 1^st team All District and 1^st team All Region. He’s already receiving interest from college scouts and will be one of the team’s leaders next season.

“He’s a workhorse and a goal scorer, he was 2^nd or third in goals in the region,” Cochran said.  “He’s gotten a lot quicker and his shots are more on target.”

Senior defender Haywaad Ahmadzai, junior goalkeeper Adam Beaton, and sophomore forward Luis Navarro all were named 2^nd team All-District stars for the first time, while senior Jacob Straub, who scored 2 goals and added 4 assists this season, was accorded the honor for the second consecutive year. Senior Tommy Cramp and sophomore Andres Garcia were honorable mention All District.

The team will graduate 11 seniors, but several of the team’s best players, including Connor Coward, Adam Beaton, Luis Navarro, and Andres Garcia will return.

“We have a decent nucleus coming back,” Cochran said.  “I was pleased with the ball movement this year and how the guys came together as a team. They’ve known each other for years, but it’s just getting them to play the way we want them to play.”