Centreville — Westfield girls’ soccer coach Kristi Williams wasn’t pleased with the Bulldogs’ effort in the first half. Centreville head coach Gary Malebranche looked back and wished the Wildcats had capitalized when they were in control.
For 74 minutes, Westfield and Centreville failed to score during Tuesday’s contest. Then, in a matter of moments, a narrow miss by Centreville’s Jenna Green turned into a game-winning transition goal for Westfield.
Freshman forward Emma Kershner scored in the 75th minute and Westfield defeated Centreville 1-0 in a battle of undefeated Concorde District foes at Centreville High School.
Centreville’s Green missed just to the right late in the second half. Moments later, Westfield headed back the other way and Kershner found the net.
“I think they did catch us in transition,” Malebranche said. “We had done a good job the entire game and obviously we had an error.”
The win improved Westfield’s record to 7-0, including 1-0 in the Concorde. It was the Bulldogs’ first shutout of the season.
“We cranked it up another notch in the second half,” Williams said. “I just thought we were playing better in the second half and when you yourself play better, the result will kind of take care of itself. I thought the first half was pretty balanced and I thought we had a little bit more of the run of play in the second half and the result is going to come.”
The loss dropped Centreville’s record to 6-1, including 0-1 in the district. The Wildcats had outscored their opponents 21-3 entering Tuesday’s contest.
“[The Wildcats] played hard," Malebranche said. "We didn’t quite get everything done we wanted to, necessarily. We left plays on the field. … [Westfield] snuck one out, so we’ll give them credit. ...
"I thought we played well defensively. We obviously created chances. I wish we had taken care of stuff in the first half when they barely crossed midfield.”
Centreville will travel to face Oakton at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 15 and will host Robinson on Wednesday, April 17.
Westfield will travel to face Robinson at 7 p.m. on Monday and will host Herndon on Wednesday.
“I think [this win is] just going to push our confidence,” Kershner said, “and we’re just one step closer to the … [district championship] banner.”