Herndon Boys Silence Fairfax Rebel Yell

The Herndon Hornet Boys varsity soccer team has scored 32 goals this season and allowed only three through 11 games and is the team to beat in the Northern Region. The ‘Swarm’ traveled to Fairfax Thursday night to face the troubled Rebels but could not take them lightly as the match was the perfect set up for a trap game.

Nevertheless, the Hornets (11-0) remained composed and dominated Fairfax (0-11) in emblematic fashion behind junior EK Korvah’s hat trick to prolong their undefeated run and earn their eighth shutout of the season, 5-0.

Ahead 3-0 late in the second half, senior midfielder Salah Warid reentered the game for Herndon after a breather and became a man possessed. Warid took the back-heel pass from a teammate and ripped it past the Rebel goalkeeper from 18 yards with 6:35 remaining. The midfielder struck again three minutes later. This time Fairfax’s keeper came out of to challenge Warid but he sidestepped him and drilled the ball in the back of the net to close out the Hornet victory.

“I acted like I was going to kick it and accidentally missed but so did he, but I [scored],” Warid said. “I just came in there and wanted to get the win. We want to get out there and make a name for ourselves this year.”

The first half contained even more excitement as the 10 Hornets playing the field made it a quiet night for their Keeper Jack Clarke, who has allowed just two goals through 11 games. Herndon was elated to have Korvah back in its line up. He returned last week from an ACL injury to play in just his second game this year. He has already tallied five goals as he scored two against Annandale and three on Thursday.

Korvah showed no rust and got hot quickly when Raleigh McKenzie passed the ball to him inside the 18-yard-box. Korvah then fired one through from 12 yards out, hitting a Rebel defender in the chest and deflecting in the net for his first of three goals on the night.

“Raleigh got the ball, passed it back to me and I drilled it between the six and the 18,” Korvah said. “It really feels good to be back with my team. My leg’s not 100 percent yet but it’s feeling really good.”

Fairfax hustled hard but had difficulty penetrating the Hornets’ solid midfield wall. Sam Eaddy, Peter Sullivan and Brian Parodi shut down the Rebels with skillful tackling to swing momentum back to regain possession for Herndon throughout the majority of the match.

When the Rebels did enter Herndon territory, McKenzie and company refused several shots and cleared the ball successfully.

“Everybody in the back knows their role. It all starts with the defense but it takes 11 players,” McKenzie said. “Everybody comes back and drops in to help.”

With 14 minutes left in the match, Korvah found an opening in the net for the second time to give Herndon a 2-0 lead. But the striker was not finished. Less then 30 seconds later Korvah juked the keeper, and rolled the ball in for the coveted hat trick.

“It’s a great feeling to get a hat trick in a game,” Korvah said. “I definitely don’t want to get overconfident, but just stay humble.”

Herndon head coach Sean Lanigan let his starters rest for a good part of the match and gave other Hornets playing time. Sophomore Josh Glazier took advantage of that time and controlled the tempo offensively for his Hornets during the second half. At midfield he was double-teamed and showed amazing footwork when he stopped quick on the ball, pivoted and knocked a back-heel pass through the defender’s legs. He then bolted forward to retain his dribble.

“Josh is a young player coming through and earning more playing time. He’s getting more confident,” Lanigan said. “He can move in and around and he’s got really nice feet.”

The coach added that this year’s team shows many similarities to the first team he coached at Herndon.

“Ninety-six was my first year at Herndon and the guys went 3-12 the year before. We came out and went 9-0 and surprised a lot of people,” he said. “This [year’s] team went 5-6-1 last year and there weren’t a lot of high expectations around. They’ve gotten some respect and these guys have proved it. This team is going to be another contender, might take the district, the region and have a shot at winning the state title.”

Herndon plays at Oakton on May 10 at 7 p.m. and at home against Langley on May 11 at 7 p.m.