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Varsity Soccer News

Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star Article on OCHS captain Elliott Gillan

OCHS Tops Brentsville in Regional Semi Final
The OCHS Boys' Soccer team defeated Brentsville 4-2 at Porterfield Park on Wednesday May 30th to earn a bid to the State Tournament.
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star Article | Charlottesville Daily Progress Article


Thursday May 17, 2007 - Orange 4 Charlottesville 2
Orange Wins Regular Season District Championship!!
 Free Lance-Star Article


Thursday May 10, 2007 - Orange 1 Louisa 0
 Game story from Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star

Orange County defeated the Louisa Lions Thursday night, 1-0.

Sophomore Joe Morrison gave a strong performance in the goal with 7 saves. Several times the Lions were able to good shots off but Morrison put away those chances.

The score was 0-0 at the half and Hornets came out in the second half with a possession offense working the ball down the field. Senior striker Rick Mittler was able to make a diving shot on a direct kick by senior captain Elliott Gillan and put the ball behind Raymond Brooks, the Louisa goalkeeper.

This was the Hornets third straight game where Gillan has assisted Mittler on key goals to determine the out come of the game. Rick Mittler was awarded the game ball for the third time this season. Game ball honors were also shared by goalkeeper Joe Morrison for recording the shutout for the Hornets.

Strong performances were given by defenders Adam Jacques, Logan Collins and Ben Freeman. Seniors John Morhmann and Elliott Gillan played key roles in controlling the middle of the field. Juniors Cody Fincham, Schuyler Whelan, and sophomore Ethan Biggs, made strong runs for the streaking Hornets.

The Hornets 11-2-1 (8-1-1 District) will play host to William Monroe on Monday, May 14th with a starting time of 7:30 p.m.

 

Thursday, May 3, 2007 - OCHS 3 Monticello 2

Orange traveled to Monticello to take on the Mustangs. Monticello jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead. They recorded 5 corner kicks in the first half of play and two of the opportunities resulted in goals. Jesse Floro and Matt Wolanski scored to put the Mustangs up 2-0 at the half.

Orange County regrouped after intermission and senior striker Rick Mittler scored the first goal with an assist from Elliott Gillan. OC came storming back and possessed the ball on the Mustangs half of the field for the most of the half. Junior captain Ben Freeman was able to score the tying goal from an assist from Ian Lockhart. Freeman scored the winning goal with 7:45 minutes to play off a pass from Schuyler Whelan. Freeman was awarded the game ball for his performance.

Orange (10-2-1; (7-1-1 District) travels to Louisa on Thursday, May 10th for a match up with the Lions. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m.

Monday April 30th, 2007 - Orange 1 Western Albemarle 1

The boys’ varsity soccer team played Western Albemarle to a 1-1 tie. OC scored first at the 4:32 mark with senior captain Elliott Gillan sending a ball across to a streaking Cody Fincham who finished with a brilliant shot into the right corner of the goal for his 5th goal of the season. Western managed a goal 20 minutes into the game with Aaron Meyers finishing a hard shot into the left corner of the goal. Meyers was assisted by Toshy Penny.

The game remained tied at the end of regulation time and after two 5 minute overtime periods. Goal keepers Charles Stump of Western and Joe Morrison of the Hornets had tremendous performances. Junior Adam Jacques was awarded the game ball for his tremendous defensive performance.

The Hornets’ district record now stands at 6-1-1.
 

April 25, 2007

The Orange County boys’ soccer team defeated Fluvanna HS on Wednesday evening, 3-2.

Orange started the scoring with senior Jason Washington scoring his 9th goal of the season with an assist on the play from Rick Mittler.

Fluvanna tied the score with a goal from Nick Sheppard at the 12 minute mark in the first half. Fluvanna struck again with a goal by Tyler Wilson to take a 2-1 lead.

Senior striker Rick Mittler took over for the Hornets when he helped his team retake the lead with a shot from the 18 which beat the Fluvanna goalkeeper Casey Cagle just inside the left corner of the goal. Mittler's goal was assisted by Jason Washington.

Several minutes later, Hornets outside midfielder Schuyler Whelan took the ball down the right side to the end line and crossed it to a streaking Rick Mittler who headed the ball home for the winning goal. Rick Mittler was awarded the game ball for his two goals and one assist on the evening.

The second half was furious and physical with neither team scoring as the Hornets held on for a 3-2 win.

The 9-2 (6-1 Hornets) Hornets play host to the Western Albemarle Warriors Monday night, April 30th at Porterfield Park. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

April 23, 2007

The Orange County boys’ varsity soccer team lost their first district game at the hands, or should I say feet, of the Charlottesville Black Knights by a 3-2 score.

Alex Woolworth of Charlottesville scored the first goal of the game in the 29th minute of the first half. Cody Fincham, a junior midfielder for the Hornets, scored on a long direct kick from junior captain Ben Freeman. The score was tied one to one at the half.

The second half opened up with OC taking the ball right down the field and Freeman gave a through pass to Fincham, who shot the ball past the Knights goalkeeper for the lead. Captain Ben Freeman continues to lead the Hornets with assists totaling 8. Cody Fincham was awarded the game ball.

The score stayed 2-1 until Charlottesville’s Will Gallop scored the first of two goals on the night. Gallop beat Hornet keeper Joe Morrison on a shot from the top of the box to tie the score. With only 6 minutes remaining, Gallop again scored on a long ball to win the game for the Knights.

The Hornets are 8-2 on the season with a 5-1 record in the Jefferson District. They will travel to Fluvanna on Wednesday April 25th to begin the second half of the season. Game time is 6:30 p.m.
 

April 19, 2007

The boys’ varsity soccer team defeated William Monroe 4-1. The Hornets’ top scorer, junior midfielder Schuyler Whelan, finished a pass from Ben Freeman for a 1-0 lead at the 35:35 minute mark in the game. Freeman leads the Hornets with 7 assists. Three minutes later Freeman scored his first goal of the season on a crossing pass from Ethan Biggs.

William Monroe's Brandon Clayton scored on the Hornets with 15 minutes left in the first half to make the score 2-1.

Minutes later senior striker Jason Washington scored his 7th goal of the season with an assist from Matt Cronin. The half ended with the Hornets up 3-1.

The Hornets scored one last goal at the 33 minute mark when Cody Fincham set up for a corner kick and found Ethan Biggs over the top of the 6 yd. box to flick the shot into the Green Dragon's net. Sophomore midfielder Ethan Biggs was awarded the game ball.

The Hornets raised their record to 8-1 over all and 5-0 in Jefferson District play. The Hornets will travel to Charlottesville Monday, April 23rd to take on the Black Knights for 1st place in the Jefferson District. The Charlottesville Black Knights also possess a perfect record in the district at 5-0. Game time is set for 6:30pm.
 

April 18, 2007

The OCHS boys varsity soccer team defeated Louisa HS Wednesday night by a score of 4-1.

Junior midfielder Cody Fincham started out the scoring for the Hornets when he connected on a pass from Ben Freeman and finished a shot from the left side of the box at the 28 minute mark. Minutes later Jason Washington scored a goal on a crossing pass from Ben Freeman. Senior captain Elliott Gillan rounded out the scoring for the first half when he connected off his direct kick 24 yards from the goal.

Schuyler Whelan, the leading Hornets’ leading scorer, scored the Hornets’ final goal of the game when he scorched a Ben Freeman touch pass from the top of the box that beat goalkeeper Jon Craig. Junior captain Ben Freeman was awarded the game ball for his 3 assists.

Late in the game midfielder Louisa’s Robert Green looped a shot over the outstretched body of Orange goalkeeper Adam McGinnis for the Lions lone goal.

Orange goalkeeper Joe Morrison finished the game with 4 saves and McGinnis took over with 24 minutes left to finish the game with 5 saves.
 

 
April 9, 2007
 
The Orange County Boys Soccer team defeated Monticello HS 5-1.

The Mustangs struck first in the 21st minute with Ben Hunt receiving a ball on the back side of the box from Jess Floro and placing the ball just out of the reach of OCHS goalkeeper Joe Morrison. It was a perfectly placed ball and seemed to fuel the Mustangs momentarily.

Senior captain Elliott Gillan's direct kick from 45 yards away found a diving Colin Lawson who scored his 3rd goal for the season to tie the score at one apiece.

The go ahead score came from senior striker Jason Washington who placed a rebound into the net for his 6th goal of the season. The half ended with the Hornets up 2-1.

The second half of play found the Hornets regaining their stride with 3 unanswered goals. Junior midfielder Schuyler Whelan, who leads the team in scoring with 7 goals, finished a crossing ball from Cody Fincham. Senior striker Rick Mittler found the net with an assist from Colin Lawson. The final goal of the game was scored by sophomore striker Matt Cronin. Cronin's second goal of the season was assisted by Colin Lawson. Lawson finished the game with 1 goal and 2 assists and was awarded the game ball.

Elliott Gillan and Cody Fincham are the assist leaders on the team with five apiece. Colin Lawson has four assists while Adam Jacques, Ben Freeman and Rick Mittler each have three.

The 6-1, (3-0 District) Hornets will host the Louisa Lions at Porterfield Park on Monday night April 16th with game time set for 7:30 p.m.
 
 
April 2, 2007
 
The boys varsity soccer team played Fluvanna HS on Monday night April 2nd with heavy hearts.

One of their teammates, junior goalkeeper Joseph Stanley, lost his life in an automobile accident late Saturday night. The team assembled themselves on Sunday and visited Joe's family with flowers and heartfelt sorrow. Monday morning, with parent’s permission, the team met with OCHS Administration and made a decision to play their district game in honor of their teammate. The athletes of all the other varsity sports at OCHS decided to forego their games to attend and support the boys varsity soccer match and honor young Joe Stanley.

As a Varsity Coach, never have I ever experienced an outpouring of love and respect among high school athletes. These are very special people that we teach at Orange County HS, and their teachers, coaches and parents should be so very proud of them.

I can not recall in my 30 years of teaching and coaching ever seeing so many young people coming together to show their honor and respect for a fellow student and his teammates. I know that the student athletes and fellow classmates at OC strengthened all of us in the teaching profession as well as Joe's immediate family.

Our Varsity boys Soccer team took on their district rival with a tremendous crowd on hand to support them. As their coach I would like to extend my most warm and heartfelt thanks for supporting them in their victory in honor of their teammate.

At the 25:15 mark of the game junior midfielder Cody Fincham found Schuyler Whelan on the back side with a thrown in and Schuyler headed the ball into the goal for the first score of the game. The score stood through the first half as the Orange players dominated play but at the 9 minute of the second half Jordon Hinkle took a shot off a deflected throw in that found its way just inside the right post.

With the score tied Orange players were pressing throughout the remainder of the second half and with 21 minutes remaining in the contest Cody Fincham found Schuyler Whelan on a throw in for what proved to be the winning goal. Fluvanna battled back but Orange defenders Elliott Gillan, John Mohrmann, Logan Collins, and Adam Jacques stifled Fluvanna's offensive attacks.

Junior Adam Jacques was injured and Ryan Stanley, Joe Stanley's cousin, was called upon to shut down Fluvanna's offensive runs off their right side. The junior defender made his presence known stopping several attacking runs by Fluvanna.

Senior strikers Rick Mittler and Jason Washington made strong runs and shots at the Fluvanna goal hitting the post and crossbar, just missing scores. Midfielders Colin Lawson and captain Ben Freeman stopped many counter attacks in the center of the field and controlled the center space. Moving senior captain Elliott Gillan to a more central position also put added pressure on Fluvanna defenders.

The end result was a hard fought 2-1 victory for the 5-1 (2-0 District) Hornets. The team signed the game ball and presented the game ball to Joe Stanley's family as a gesture of love. We as a Soccer Family will truly miss our teammate this season. Joe Stanley was a very giving player. Joe was always concerned with his teammates and would give time and space to help his teammates get better. He knew how to sacrifice his body as a keeper to block shots and he always could make the more difficult save on the ball.

My last conversation with Joe was at the Madison game on March 29th. It was a very close contest with Madison battling our team right to the end. At the end of the game Joe and I were walking toward the middle of the field to greet the team and have our team meeting. I told him I was sorry I could not get him in the contest to finish the game and he said, as he put his arm around me, "Coach, don’t worry about me, you did what you had to do for the team and that's what matters."

That’s what Joe Stanley was all about. Joe was all about the team and his teammates. To Joe, TEAM, meant everything … and Joe means everything to OC Soccer.

Orange County Boys Soccer will play their next district contest at home on April 9th vs. Monticello Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. at Porter Field Park.
 
 
March 30, 2007: Orange 2 Madison 1
 
The boys Varsity Soccer team was able to pull out a victory against a spirited performance by the Madison Mountaineers on Thursday, March 29th, at Madison Field.
 
Junior midfielder Cody Fincham finished a pass from Rick Mittler, scoring from the left side of the penalty area, to put the Hornets on the board with 13 minutes to play in the first half.
 
Madison's Shepherd Wallenberger evened the contest with 11 minutes to play in the game. The Hornets were able to squeeze out a victory in the final moments of the game with senior striker, Jason Washington found Shuyler Whelan at the top of the penalty area. Whelan was able to beat Madison goalkeeper Justin Lobban and headed Washington's pass over and into the goal. The game ended as the Mountaineers were kicking off.
 
The goal was Whelan's 4th on the season and Fincham's goal was his first. The varsity now has a rcord of  4-1 (1-0 District) and will host Fluvanna Monday, April 2nd at Porter Field Park. Game time is set for 7:30pm


 
March 29, 2007: Culpeper 4 Orange 3 (Overtime)


The Orange County Boys Soccer team suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Culpeper Blue Devils.

Beaten 4-2 by the Hornets a week earlier at Porterfield Park, Culpeper exploded in the first 5 minutes of the game to take a 2-0 lead. Goals by Christian Benites and Omar Ardit opened up the scoring for the Blue Devils.

OC's senior captain, Elliott Gillan took charge of bringing his team back with assists to senior striker Jason Washington and senior midfielder Colin Lawson. Washington has the team lead in goals with 5.

Lawson was able to tie the game with a header off Gillan's deep direct kick from mid field. Lawson was also responsible for scoring the winning goal on Monday vs. Western Albemarle.

The game was tied at the half and both teams came out strong in the second half as play became more physical. Cody Fincham and Evan Bond were able to put added pressure on the Culpeper defense with their long throw-ins.

Captain Ben Freeman controlled the midfield play with strong support from senior captain, Elliott Gillan. The Blue Devils were able to launch numerous attacks on the Hornets with their long ball passing but the Hornet defense lead by Gillan and John Mohrmann were able to thwart most of the dangerous runs.

The Blue devils were able to score with 5 minutes to play on a goal by Eduard Reyes. Hornets had to push their offensive attack to strike mode allowing Gillan to push up to create more offensive opportunities. Junior striker Logan Collins was able to drive home the tying goal with 1:48 remaining off a cross from defender Adam Jacques.

Hornets were able to move into overtime and controlled most of both periods but a missed played throw in by Allen Rosenberger was able to find the back of the net with 15 seconds remaining to seal the Blue Devils victory.

The Hornets (3-1, 1-0 District) will travel to Madison on Thursday March 29th, to take on the Moutaineers for an early 4pm start. The Junior Varsity will follow with their game at 5:30pm.

 
 
March 26th : Orange 1 Western Albemarle 0

The Orange County Boys Varsity Soccer team defeated Western Albemarle 1-0 on Monday night March 26th at Warrior Field in Crozet, Va.

The game was hard played on both sides with Western coming out strong from the start with a tally of 3 corner kicks in the first 4 minutes of play. The Warriors finished the game with 7 corners.

OC's defenders lead by their senior captain Elliott Gillan held the Warriors offensive in check throughout the entire contest allowing the Warriors only 7 shots on goal for the evening. Hornet sophomore goalkeeper Joe Morrison had 5 saves on the evening. One of Morrison's saves was a spectacular diving save off the foot of midfielder Andy Stafford. Stafford got beyond OC defenders and was one-on-one with the Hornet keeper. Morrison came off larger than life on that save for his teammates.

At the 13:38 mark of the contest senior center-mid Colin Lawson made a strong run beating three Warrior defenders and crushed a shot past Warrior goalkeeper Charles Stump to reach the back of the net for the Hornets.

Colin Lawson was awarded the game ball for the evening. Lawson's goal was the only tally needed for the Hornets as they emerged victorious from a hard fought soccer match. Hornets came close to scoring on several opportunities as they finished the game with 7 shots on goal. The strong play of Western’s goalkeeper Charles Stump was present all night long as he stopped shot after shot. Morrison and Stump traded goal kicks and clearing balls all evening long.

Junior captain Ben Freeman controlled the Hornets midfield and Schuyler Whelan and Cody Fincham worked the Hornet's outside runs creating deep pressure runs on the Warrior's defenders.

The Orange Varsity has raised its record to 3-0, 1-0 in the Jefferson district. They travel to Culpeper Wednesday March 28th for a match with the Blue Devils with a game time set for 7 p.m.

The Hornets will be back in action on Thursday March 29th when they line up against Madison HS in an afternoon contest at Madison with a game time start of 4 p.m.

Congratulations to our Varsity Boys Soccer team on a game well played.
 
 
March 23rd: Orange 4 Culpeper 2
 
The Boys Varsity Soccer team defeated Culpeper H.S. on March 23rd by a score of 4-2.
 
Senior striker Rick Mittler started out the scoring for the Hornets from 12 yards out. It was Mittler's third goal of the season. Senior striker Jason Washington scored his first of two goals on the night when he headed home a throw-in from junior midfielder Cody Fincham.
 
Although the Hornets started the game a bit slow, their game took shape and they possessed the ball in strong manner. The defense only allowed the Blue Devils 2 shots on goal in the first half of play. Sophomore goalkeeper Joe Morrison had a strong game saving several hard shots. He finished the game with 5 saves.
 
The second half began with Culpeper coming out strong and Christian Benites streaking down the left side and finishing a nice goal 3 minutes into the second half. Orange answered with Jason Washington collecting a ball from Elliott Gillan's direct kick shot off the post and touching the ball home for his team leading 4th goal on the season.
 
Culpeper scored again late in the contest with a throw in goal by Allen Rosenberger to make the score 3-2. Junior Midfielder Schuyler Whelan put the game on ice by heading home a direct kick from the senior captain Elliott Gillan. Whelan, waiting along the outside, outleaped several Culpeper defenders and headed Gillan's direct kick in for the score. The goal was Whelan's 3rd goal of the season. Gillan recorded two assists on the night.
 
Defensive players John Mohrmann and Adam Jacques had strong efforts as did sophomores Ian Lockhart and Ethan Biggs from the midfield positions.
 
The 2-0 Hornets will travel to Western Albemarle Monday night March 26th to take on the Western Warriors. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. The Hornets will also make up their rained out game with Culpeper on Wednesday night March 28th at Culpeper. Game time is 7pm. The Hornets will finish the week on Thursday, March 27th at Madison with an afternoon game starting at 4 p. m. with the JV hornets following at 5:30 p.m.

 
 
Saturday Gymnastics News:

We will offer one more session, Session IV, of our Saturday Morning Gymnastics Program beginning on Saturday, April 21st. The dates for these classes will
be:
  • April 21st
  • April 28th
  • May 5th
  • May 12th
  • May 19th
The cost will remain the same at $50.00 per gymnast and checks can be made payable to OES.

We have really enjoyed our young students this school year and the level of ability has risen as the children continue with their instruction.

Thank you all for supporting gymnastics and our gymnastics program in our schools.


CoacHowes


For further information, contact Michael Howes
Phone: 540-661-4450 ext.2570
Email: mhowes@ocss-va.org

 

CoacHowes - mhowes@ocss-va.org