By Spencer DuPuis
LoCoSports Staff Writer
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Leesburg (May 28, 2016) — On Friday, May 27, the Conference 21A No.2 Harrisonburg High School met the Conference 21B No.2 Heritage High School in the first round of the VHSL 4A West region tournament.
In the 70th-minute, Heritage senior Nick Scola put one in the back of the net after a shot from junior Ryan Pyszka to give the Pride the 1-0 advantage.
“Pyszka had a great shot, I’d say it’s just being in the right spot at the right time,” Scola said. “We kept up the intensity after the goal.”
The game started out very slow for both teams, but as the first half came to a close the game was starting to become more fast-paced. And the Pride would keep it that way throughout most of the second half.
“I think what we said at halftime, that our season was about to be over [pushed them],” Heritage head coach Betsy Munson said. “Andres [Villalon] — our speaking captain — [talked at halftime]and he sort of finds a way to get the team motivated and pretty much say what the coaches say, but it means a little more when it comes from [a teammate]and a leader that you respect.”
In the 76th-minute, Heritage junior — and recent Binghamton commit — Kosta Nika would add a goal to all but secure the win for the Pride.
“I was lucky to be in the right spot to take advantage of a good opportunity to score a goal,” Nika said.
The Pride never looked back as they played stout defense for the remaining four minutes.
“I really did not want any let downs because at this level, if its 2-1, it changes everything. If the other team would push numbers up, you can easily tie it,” Munson said. “I feel like it’s pretty difficult to relax [defensively]up 2-0 in a playoff game. You see the other team, knowing their season is going to be over and so they’re going to give it everything. So we did not want to relax, had it been 3-0 it may have been a little bit different, but we just wanted to make sure we got the job done tonight.
Scoring:
70’ H Nick Scola
76’ H Kosta Nika
