Free Kick Sets Up Only Goal in Fairfax-Woodson Game

In a non-district game played predominantly near the midfield line, both the Woodson and Fairfax girls soccer teams tried to find an opportunity to seize control of a game dictated by possession.

The stalemate was broken in the 62nd minute after Woodson junior forward Elizabeth Gaski netted a goal to give the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead they would keep until the final whistle.

Gaski’s game-winning goal was set up by free kick 40 yards away from the goal by senior Erin Havard. Havard’s strong line-drive kick sailed all the way to Fairfax goalkeeper Samantha Cormode. With a slight breeze, Cormode misjudged the trajectory of Havard’s kick and couldn’t grab the ball. In front of a slew of players, the loose ball bounced directly to Gaski, who fired a shot into the net.

“When you play balls in like that you want your forwards following the ball and you want your forwards pressed from the goalkeeper and that’s what [Gaski] did,” Woodson Coach Warren Williams said. “When you do the hard work and go to the net you get goals.”

Fairfax, which started its season on Monday with an impressive victory against Chantilly, couldn’t get the game even in the final 20 minutes despite a push from seniors Melody Salmeron and Meg Murphy.

In the 53rd minute, Murphy single-handedly went through Fairfax defenders, but a long shot narrowly sailed left of the goal.

The Rebels were off target when they had scoring opportunities. Fairfax coach Gino Leon said that in their first two games, his team played with only one forward and will change to a 4-4-2 alignment as the season moves ahead.

“We emphasize ball possession,” Leon said. “We have a real nice unit, we’re just trying to teach them to work together and build team harmony and team unity. Tonight we were unfortunate. A ball bounces this way or that way, and that’s the outcome of the game.”

Fairfax’s best scoring chance came at an early stage in the game. In the 14th minute, Cassidy Tammaro unloaded on a shot near the left wing, but Woodson goalkeeper Jessica Ferrari was geared in perfect position to nab the attempt. The Cavaliers’ defense controlled their positions throughout the game without many errors and limited Fairfax to only one corner kick and few shots on goal.

“Jessica had a great save in the first half,” Williams said. “Other than that, there were a few things she had to clean up. Lindsey Heigh did a phenomenal job in the middle for us.”

Williams was pleased with the way that his outside mids worked together and how they never left the backside open for Fairfax to utilize for a scoring opportunity.

Woodson (1-0) plays next at Stone Bridge on Thursday, March 24. Fairfax (1-1) plays at home against Madison on Tuesday.