Girls soccer: District tourney title seems a formality for Maury girls

NORFOLK 

A Wilson High School girls soccer player winced as she saw the ball fly into the net.   “Not another goal,” she cried. 

It was late in the second half of Maury’s 12-0 victory over the Presidents last week in the Eastern District tournament semifinals. 

Mary Morgan had just completed a double hat trick. The Wilson player’s wail had come after the finishing touches had all but been applied to a lopsided match that was typical of league games involving Maury and an unfortunate victim. 

In eight matches against Eastern District foes, the Commodores have outscored opponents 66-0. They have yet to give up a goal in 640 minutes of district play.

  “With all respect to the other teams in the league, I know they work hard, but we’re a little bit ahead,” said Maury coach Mohsin Bouziane, who oversees the Commodores with his wife, Christine. “We play soccer all year around. The girls know each other really well, and we have a good coaching staff. It’s a combination of all.” 

Against Wilson, the Commodores directed clever passes to their attackers and at the same time disassembled the Presidents’ offside trap to the point that breakaways occurred repeatedly. In a matter of seconds the ball would travel from one end to the other in a sequence that went something like this: pass, pass, pass, shot, and more often than not ... goal.

Morgan, for the most part, leads the charge. An aggressive sophomore forward, Morgan has scored three or more goals in a match eight times this season and is clinical in her approach, forging ahead no matter the situation. In her second season as a varsity player, she has solidified her reputation as one of the best players in South Hampton Roads. 

When she produced her initial hat trick against Wilson in the first half, the public address announcer said, “For Mary Morgan, that’s her third goal of the match.” 

A wry smile then spread across a Wilson player’s face. 

“Wow, that’s surprising,” she remarked sarcastically. 

That’s just it. No Maury or Wilson player was shocked by Morgan’s productivity or the inequity that exists between the Commodores and everybody else in the Eastern District. 

“We have almost always dominated the district,” Morgan said. “It’s known for us to do that. We expect every day to go out and dominate.” 

Not long ago, a stiff challenge was coming from Granby, which appeared to be a program on the rise. Two years ago, the Comets defeated Maury in a playoff for first place in the Eastern District. But the Comets have fallen back with the rest of the pack — a pack Wilson coach Martin Hill insists is better than ever. 

“Instead of the competition going down in the Eastern District, the competition is increasing,” Hill said. “They’re closing the gap more.” 

Still, the closest league victory Maury achieved was 4-0 over Churchland, the team the Commodores face today in the Eastern District tournament final. In six of the seven league matches, Maury scored eight or more goals. 

During significant portions of the action, the Commodores will maintain possession in the other team’s end and yield rare counterattacks. For the most part, goalkeeper Leslie Lomax remains unoccupied, standing alone in Maury’s penalty box and straining to see what is happening at the opposite side of the field. She said that practices often prove more competitive than games. 

“We don’t try to go out and kill the other team,” Lomax said. “But without a mercy rule we work together and go for it. All for one and one for all when taking on another team.” 

Bouziane tries to guard against his team humiliating Eastern District opponents. He and his wife liberally substitute when the score becomes lopsided and adjust their tactics by drawing back attackers.   But Bouziane said he can only do so much. 

Hill understands. 

“Instead of winning the game, it becomes get a couple of goals on them, get a couple of shots on them, stop Mary,” Hill said. “It’s that type of thing.”

Rainer Sabin, 757-446-2367 or rainer.sabin@pilotonline.com