By: Dan Sousa
Leesburg (Apr. 5, 2007) – Shhhhhhh. Don’t tell anyone but the Heritage High School boys soccer team may be the area’s best kept secret in any sport.
Potomac Falls with its great run to the AA boys state title last year, one year after falling short in heartbreaking fashion in the state semifinals, is receiving most of the attention this spring but the Pride proved once again Tuesday night with a 2-2 tie with the Panthers that there isn’t a lot of seperation between the Pride and soccer rival Potomac Falls.
“The kids step up to play Potomac Falls. That is the team with the target on them,” said Heritage coach Steve Williams.
Heritage made it to the state semifinals last year before falling to the Panthers. In total the two teams met five times last year with the Panthers going 4-0-1, including victories in the Dulles District tournament finals, the Region II finals and the state semifinals.
While the Panthers had the revenge motive last year — trying to make-up for a last-second loss in the 2005 state semifinals to Blacksburg, which they did in 2006 by defeating Blacksburg in the state finals — it may be Heritage with the superior inspiration this season.
“We need to dig down and find the hunger again,” said Potomac Falls coach Dave Gryder.
The Panthers came into Spring Break week having given up one goal in the first five games only to allow a shocking four goals Monday in a 4-4 tie and then two more to Jack Killian in Tuesday’s tie. The back-to-back ties left Heritage on top of the district standings and at least one Pride player saying after the game: “That is like a loss for them boys.”
Gryder would just as well not even played this week with school out of session.
“I don’t think it’s a great idea,” Gryder said about the Spring Break games. “I think we were in Spring Break mode Monday night.”
The Panthers may have been looking past County on Monday to Tuesday’s showdown with Heritage. Players on both teams are teammates on the same year-round travel team so there is almost an intra-squad rivalry feel to the match-up.
“There really are no secrets to either team. It will always be a battle every time we play them,” said Gryder.
The Pride tied the Panthers in the final regular-season game in 2006 and lost by just a goal in the state semifinals.
“We think we can take them,” said Killian who scored off two set pieces Tuesday, on a Luis Brun corner kick in the 28th minute and a Micah Miller pass from a free kick in the 51st minute.
Williams says that Killian is hard to deny around the goal.
“He does well in the air near the goal,” said Williams.
For Potomac Falls, a red flag has to be that five of the six goals in this Spring Break swing were given up on set pieces.
“We know what we need to do. It is the one-on-one type match-ups,” said Gryder.
Potomac Falls got an early goal Tuesday from Korey Horton in the 10th minute goal as he scored from 18 yards off a Chris Frank throw-in. The Panthers also scored in the 35th minute as Matt Clem found the back of the net as he slid toward the goalpost to touch an Asa Fox pass.
Heritage was able to hold the dynamic scoring duo of Uche Onyeador and Ben Biber in check. Onyeador is considered the best AA soccer player in the state and Biber had a hat trick against Loudoun County to prevent the Panthers from being upset victims.
“Our kids love the challenge of facing the best scoring tandem in the state,” said Williams.
Heritage, playing with a strong wind in the first half, out-shot Potomac Falls 8-4 and had a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks but the Pride trailed 2-1.
The Panthers just missed making it 3-1 in the 42nd minutes when a header hit off the crossbar. Killian tied things less than 10 minutes later.
PF, playing with wind this time, held the shot advantage of 9-2, while corners were even 1-1.
Neither team could score in the two five-minute overtime periods and the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
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