Episcopal Soccer Squeaks Past Archrival St. Stephens/St. Agnes

Photo by FLICKR/school-boy-heart/3017786604/ Episcopal sophomore forward Arnaud Adala Moto drilled a 15-yard ground ball shot into the far corner of the net, beating St. Stephens/St. Agnes senior goalkeeper Connor Wiseman for the game's lone tally.

Alexandria, Virginia - In one of the biggest high school soccer games of the season, Episcopal defeated archrival St. Stephens/St. Agnes 1-0, on the road Oct. 20.

With the score 0-0 at half, both teams had their chances to score in the second half.

With 12:43 remaining in the 40-minute second half, Episcopal sophomore forward Arnaud Adala Moto drilled a 15-yard ground ball shot into the far corner of the net, beating St. Stephens/St. Agnes senior goalkeeper Connor Wiseman for the game's lone tally.

"I was in good position," Moto said afterwards. "I received the ball and turned and was able to convert it."

Regarding the decisive goal of the match, veteran head coach Rick Wilcox also commented after the contest" "It was a free kick from midfield and David Kagula-Kalema played a real good ball to Arnaud."

The Saints senior captain Ryan Garikes took a corner kick two minutes later, but St. Stephens/St. Agnes could not generate a score.

Photo by FLICKR/chrisconnell/3999499867/ Here come the Saints...

On the day, both teams had quality shots and both goalkeepers -- Wiseman for the Saints and Bennett Jones for the Maroon -- had a handful of quality saves.

With the IAC-win, Episcopal improved to 13 wins, zero losses and two ties. They are currently ranked 5-0-1 in IAC rankings.

"In the first half, we just didn't possess the ball that well," Coach Wilcox said. "In the second half, we got the ball settled and we possessed it better."

With the loss, St. Stephens/St. Agnes dropped to 10-3-1 overall (3-2-1 IAC).

"Episcopal was the better team in the second half," said third-year St. Stephens/St. Agnes head coach Bo Amato. "Right now, our guys are disappointed...but hopefully we will do well in the upcoming Virginia Independent State Tournament this year."

Episcopal won the VIS Tournament last season, and despite graduating a host of players is quite likely to be a force in this year's tournament as well.

"Our younger guys that came back from last season's squad saw what it takes to win the State Title," Wilcox said. "They have a collective belief this season that they can do it again."

The State Tournament begins in early November.

This years Saint seniors include Cohen Bond, Ryan Garikes, Ben Levy, Thomas Newman, Cal Perfall (14 assists in '09), John Quarles (16 goals in '09), Steve Upton and Connor Wiseman.

This year's Maroon seniors include: Calvert Bobola, Tom Gosnell, JongMin Jeon, David Kagula-Kalema, Robert Kittrel, Lucas Roux, Alex Smith (eight goals/eight assists in '09) and Chaz Snow.

High School Football

Regarding high school football in Greater Alexandria this past weekend, six teams posted wins and eight teams came up short.

IN ALEXANDRIA CITY: Bishop Ireton improved to 5-2 overall with a 17-7 win in Richmond versus St. Christopher's. The Cardinals, coached by veteran Tony Verducci, scored the games final 10 points to prevail.

Photo by FLICKR/photos/chrisconnell/ 3999462111/ The Saints, coached by Dave Holm, led 13-0 at half and led 20-7 as the third quarter concluded.

St. Stephens/St. Agnes improved to 5-1 on the season with a 20-7 win versus IAC rival Bullis. The Saints, coached by Dave Holm, led 13-0 at half and led 20-7 as the third quarter concluded.

Episcopal dropped to 1-4 in the current campaign with a pain-staking 14-13 loss to IAC rival St. Albans.

T.C. Williams dropped to 3-4 in the current campaign with a 20-6 loss to Patriot District newcomer W.T. Woodson. Senior all-purpose offensive threat Cortez Taylor ripped off a 61-yard touchdown run to commence the game's scoring. Thereafter the Titans did not score again.

"We just weren't able to move the ball successfully after that initial touchdown," said veteran T.C. head coach Dennis Randolph. "All of our losses have hurt this season, especially the W.T. Woodson loss."

IN ARLINGTON COUNTY: Yorktown improved to 3-4 overall with a 39-14 thrashing of JEB Stuart. The Patriots led 13-0 after the first quarter was in the books and led 26-7 at intermission and also led 39-7 as the third quarter concluded. Standout junior placekicker Mike Dola accounted for nine of the points individually via two field goals and three PAT's. In addition, Dola recorded a 57-yard punt and boomed three kickoffs into the endzone.

Washington-Lee improved to 4-3 on the season with a 37-21 win versus Mount Vernon. (Details from the contest were unavailable). The Generals, 5-5 one season ago, may very well qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive season should they finish the current campaign strong.

O'Connell dropped to 4-3 overall with a 29-0 loss to WCAC rival McNamara. The Knights started the season 3-0, but have now dropped three of their past four contests.

Wakefield dropped to 0-7 in the current campaign with a 52-12 shellacking from Hayfield. Wakefield has seen two winnable games slip by this year (to Dominion and to Falls Church), but last Friday night in the rain - the contest to Hayfield definitely did not come down to the wire.

IN THE ALEXANDRIA SECTON OF FAIRFAX COUNTY: Hayfield (as previously mentioned) improved to 5-2 on the season by pounding South Arlington Wakefield. The Hawks scored early and often in the contest. Hayfield was paced by: Rayshawn Rigans (three TD's), Anton McCallum (two TD's) and Steve Lynch and Fabian Fells (one score apiece).

West Potomac improved to 2-5 in the current campaign via a 17-7 win versus a very good R.E. Lee squad. (Exact game details were unable to be obtained). The Wolverines, which defeated Mount Vernon in week one, were glad to get back into the winners column.

Edison was surprised by Falls Church and dropped a very startling 16-14 contest to the Jaguars. The powerhouse Eagles were affected by the steady rain of October 16th and dropped to 5-2 on the season.

Annandale dropped to 3-4 in the current campaign with a 30-27 loss to West Springfield. The Atoms, which commenced the '09 season at 3-0, have now dropped their past four contests.

Both Mount Vernon and Jefferson dropped to 0-7 in the current campaign. The Majors were toppled by Washington-Lee 37-21 (as previously stated) and the Colonials were thumped by Langley 46-14.

Contact the writer at dgsusa@juno.com