ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, May 25, 1996 TAG: 9605280119
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS STAFF WRITER
The Blacksburg High School boys' soccer team captured its eighth consecutive Region IV title Friday with a 3-2 overtime victory over Virginia High of Bristol.
Indians midfielder Jon Hutchins beat Bearcats goalkeeper Scott Ellis 2:10 into the third overtime period, giving Blacksburg (11-5-2) the sudden-death victory.
"[John] Gwazdauskas made a great run down the outside with the ball then delivered an absolutely perfect pass,'' Hutchins said of the game-winner. "All I had to do was put it in the net.''
Hutchins' goal not only gave the Indians the region title, but secured them home-field advantage throughout the remainder of the Group AA state tournament.
Blacksburg's opponent in the state quarterfinals Tuesday at 6 p.m. will be Region III runner-up Salem.
"No doubt, playing at home is nice,'' Blacksburg coach Shelley Blumenthal said. "We had a great crowd here tonight, and it gave these guys a lot of needed support.''
Josh Matherly paced the Indians attack, scoring two goals and starting the final run that resulted in Hutchins' goal. Andy Walls netted a pair of goals for the Bearcats (9-6-1).
The Indians scored first in the game's 26th minute on a header by Matherly. Matherly's goal was set up by an outstanding individual effort by Nick Kappas.
Kappas beat a Bearcats defender to the end line, then sent a crossing pass across the goal mouth to the waiting Matherly.
The lead was short-lived as Virginia High's Walls scored off a pass from Eric Vaughn just 47 seconds later, tying the match at one goal apiece. It was the first goal registered against Blacksburg keeper Ben Pinkerton in his last 217 minutes in goal.
Walls scored his second goal with 3:32 remaining in the first half, giving Virginia High a 2-1 lead.
"We challenged our kids at the half,'' Blumenthal said. "We felt like we controlled the game's first 20 minutes, then let it get away. We needed to win more of the loose balls.''
Three and a half minutes into the second half, Matherly collected a free ball and deposited it into the Virginia High net, tying the score at 2.
"That was a huge goal because it gave us our confidence back,'' Blumenthal said.
see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 54 linesby CNB