Soccer: Briar Woods Sweeps to Boys, Girls Region II Titles over rivals Tuscarora, Woodgrove; Broad Run Boys Fall in Northwest Final

(June 4, 2013) - The Briar Woods High School boys and girls soccer teams captured their first ever Region II titles Friday with wins over Dulles District rivals with the Falcon boys beating Tuscarora, 2-1, in Leesburg and the Falcon girls dramatically beating Woodgrove, 1-0, in overtime in Ashburn.

All four teams advance to tonight's AA state quarterfinals with Briar Woods hosting a doubleheader with the boys facing Culpeper at 5:30 p.m. and the girls hosting Jamestown at 7:30 p.m. The Tuscarora boys are on the road vs. Lafayette at Wanner Stadium at 7 p.m. and the Wolverine girls travel to Courtland for a 6 p.m. start.

A win would advance each team to this weekend's Final Four which will be held at Radford on Friday and Saturday.

In AAA boys action, Broad Run fell in a high-scoring affair to Forest Park in the Northwest Region finals, 5-4. The Spartans are at Northern Region champion Oakton tonight at 7 p.m.

Game recaps:

Girls Soccer: Briar Woods 1, Woodgrove 0 (3OT)
The first four meetings that these two teams ever had all went to overtime so it's no surprise that this affair Friday between the Dulles District's top two teams, went past the first 10 minutes of overtime scoreless, and into the first of two 5-minute sudden death periods.

The second sudden death OT wouldn't be needed as junior McKensey Ziegler scored the Golden Goal with 1:45 left in that third period of extra play, heading in freshman Rayven Conner's well-struck corner kick from six yards out.

That combination is no surprise to Falcon fans as Ziegler leads the team with 13 goals on the season and Conner now has 20 assists.

The Falcon girls, who had lost to Woodgrove in the district finals 3-0, celebrated the goal and regional title with a huge pile of players. It was Brirar Woods second win against Woodgrove in 10 career meetings.

Briar Woods keeper Tori Riopelle had eight saves in the shutout -- putting her over 100 for the year -- for a Falcons defense that did not give up a goal in three regional games.

Briar Woods improved to 17-4-1 on the year and Woodgrove fell to 17-5-1 and nobody will be surprised if the two teams don't meet each other on Saturday in Radford for the AA state championship.
Briar Woods vs. Woodgrove Girls Soccer: All-Time Series
Woodgrove leads 5-2-3
3.22.11 Briar Woods 1, Woodgrove 1 (OT - tie)
5.5.11 Briar Woods 1, Woodgrove 1 (OT - tie)
5.24.11 Woodgrove 1, Briar Woods 1 (2OT, WG advances on PKs)**Dulles semifinals**
3.15.12 Briar Woods 0, Woodgrove 0 (OT - tie)
3.28.12 Woodgrove 1, Briar Woods 0
5.22.12 Woodgrove 3, Briar Woods 2 **Dulles semifinals**
5.30.12 Woodgrove 4, Briar Woods 3 **Region II semifinals**
3.18.13 Briar Woods 2, Woodgrove 1
5.23.13 Woodgrove 3, Briar Woods 0 **Dulles finals**
5.31.13 Briar Woods 1, Woodgrove 0 (2OT) **Region II finals**

Boys Soccer: Briar Woods 2, Tuscarora 1
The Region II final at Tuscarora was a tale of two halves thanks largely to a stiff breeze that blew from the parking lot side of the stadium towards the Maryland border.

Briar Woods (13-5-1) facing the wind in the first half, opted to sit back, defend and try to weather the best punch previously unbeaten Tuscarora (20-1-2).

"We wanted to be 0-0 at the half because we felt like we could be a little more aggressive in the second half with the wind," said Briar Woods coach Francois Bernard.

The Falcons weren't able to get to the half at 0-0 but had to feel good about trailing just 1-0 as Tuscarora pounded Briar Woods in the opening half with 13 shots, including eight on target against Falcon keeper Kent Legg.

The Huskies didn't find the back of the net until the 34th minute when senior Angel Ceron-Garcia showed why he is one of the top strikers in the state, gathering a ball just outside the 18, spinning around and firing off a pretty shot that found the upper half of the net.

Tuscarora should have scored in the 4th minute as they pulled a quick restart off a free kick that send in a player alone int he box but the shot from close range clanged off the right post and a follow-up was smothered by Legg.

Then in the 22nd minute, Tuscarora looked to score after a scramble in front of the net left the goal open but junior defender Andrew Waldrip headed the ball off the goal line. Eight minutes later, Legg made a great leaping finger tip save, pushing a free kick just over the crossbar.

Briar Woods finished the first half with no shots on goal.

The second half, however, was much more even and Briar Woods senior midfield Jimmy Grace was clutch as he played a part in both Falcon goals, setting one up on a free kick in the 45th minute and then firing off a laser from a tough angle in the 53rd minute.

On the free kick from 41 yards out, Grace sent in a ball that the Huskies keeper tried to catch but as he was gathering the ball in, Briar Woods sophomore Daniel Zeitoun made contact with the keeper and dislodged the ball which fell to the feet of Falcon senior Nick Der-Hacopian.

"The ball fell right to me," said Der-Hacopian, who knew what to do with the gift, burying it in the back of the net to tie the game, at 1-1.

Just seven minutes later, Grace was taking possession of a ball outside of the 18 along the left sidelines. While it appeared it might look for a cross, or a move to the endline .. something caught his eye.

"I was at a bad angle but it looked like the keeper was a little of his line," said Grace, who squeezed off a shot that sliced into the net for the 2-1 margin.

Those would be the only two shots on goal in the game for Briar Woods but they made them count as the defense held solid down the stretch. Legg made another finger tip save, this time tipping a shot by freshman Diego Rodriguez just out of danger in the 67th minute.

In the end, Tuscarora out-shot Briar Woods, 20-8, including 10-2 on goal, but the Falcons were celebrating their first regional title. The win snapped a 4-game losing streak for the Falcons against the Huskies.

Briar Woods vs. Tuscarroar Boys Soccer: All-Time Series
Tuscarora leads 6-4-0
4.13.11 Tuscarora 1, Briar Woods 0
5.13.11 Briar Woods 3, Tuscarora 2
3.20.12 Tuscarora 1, Briar Woods 0
4.24.12 Briar Woods 2, Tuscarora 0
5.16.12 Briar Woods 1, Tuscaroar 1 (2OT, BW won n PKs, 4-2)*high seed tiebreaker*
5.24.12 Tuscarora 2, Briar Woods 0 **Dulles Finals**
6.2.12 Tuscarora 3, Briar Woods 1 **Region II Finals**
4.23.13 Tuscarora 2, Briar Woods 0
5.23.13 Tuscarora 1, Briar Woods 0 **Dulles Finals**
5.31.13 Briar Woods 2, Tuscarora 1 **Region II Finals**


Boys Soccer: Forest Park 5, Broad Run 4
Broad Run had built its Northwest Region playoff run on back-to-back shutouts but Forest Park put up five goals on a Spartan defense that had allowed more than two goals in a game just once on the season.

Broad Run falls to 14-4-3 on the season while Forest Park improves to 14-2-2.