Centreville Soccer Ready for Comeback Next Season

For varsity girl’s soccer team, the season may have ended with a disappointing 4-2 loss to McLean in the semifinals of the regional tournament, but the team showed dramatic improvement from last season and served notice that they may be the team to beat next season. The team’s 13-3 record was the school’s best showing since the 2006-7 squad went 16-3, and advanced to the semifinals of the state championships.  

Last year, the team went 8-4, had three players on the All-District 1^st team, and lost in the opening round of the district tournament. This season, the team had five more wins, nearly made it to the finals of the regional tournament, and had four players make 1st team All-District.

Even better, the Wildcats are a young team that will lose just a handful of senior starters: Mari Marotta, who will play at Bridgewater College next year, Taylor Avery who is headed to the College of Charleston, and Isabel Chang who is bound for James Madison.  Among those who will return are four sophomores who received honors this year: , Haley Yow, and Clara Logsdon, both of whom were named 1^st team All-Region players this year, and Lindsay Egbers, who was Honorable Mention All-District.  

“I really enjoy coaching this group, so regardless I’d be excited to come back, but the fact that we have so many returning players adds an extra benefit to coming back next season,” said second-year coach Gary Malebranch, 26, who was voted Coach of the Year by his peers in the region.

Only a late-season 1-0 prevented the Cats, who reached as high as #7 on the ESPN Rise National High School Rankings, from an undefeated regular season.  The team suffered another setback in the opening round of the district tournament, falling by an identical 1-0 score to Oakton, but Coach Malebranch was pleased with how his team played.

“For the most part we dominated the game and they were able to get a goal from about 25 yards out with fifteen minutes to play,” he said.  “We just couldn’t finish and for the amount of possession we had, we probably should have created more chances than we did. And then they just protected and hung on.” 

But the team rebounded with 3-0 wins over Hayfield and Lake Braddock in the first two rounds of the regional tournament.  And if it weren’t for some mental lapses against McLean in the semifinals, they might have gone to State.

 “I’d like another chance at McLean,” Malebranch said.  “I wish we hadn’t shot ourselves in the foot as many times as we did. Just some strange, fluky errors that I don’t think those girls will ever make again.”

Despite the loss, individual players racked up a host of honors. Four players made the 1^st team All-District: Isabel Chang, Haley Yow, Alex Myers, and Clara Logsdon; and five others were honorable mention: Mari Morotta, Danielle Dull, Lindsay Egbers, Sarah Karlik, and Taylor Avery.  Myers was also named 1^st team All-Region, and Chang, Yow, and Logsdon were named to the second team.

Seniors Katie O’Donnell and Mari Marotta scored seven goals each on the season, while Chang hit the mark six times, and Yow and Logsdon each had five. Myers led the team with six assists, while scoring four times.

Tryouts for next season won’t begin until February, but the coach and many of the players can hardly wait for the season to begin.

“I’m happy with the work they put in, our goal was to win a state championship, but I’m proud of the girls,” Malebranch said.  “And they did a great job, single elimination can be tricky, but I’m very proud of the job that we did and all we can do is learn from it and come back strong next year.”