Soccer: Granby, Maury win district titles

NORFOLK

For the past week, there’s been a lot of trash talking going on in the Foote household.

Lake Taylor boys soccer coach Greg Foote and his son, Kyle – who plays for Granby – have been going back and forth on whose team was going to advance to next week’s Eastern Region tournament.

“He would say, 'If you beat me, you’re going to be grounded for a week,’” Kyle said.

Kyle Foote will face the consequences because Granby is moving on. Alex King’s goal on an assist from Paul Melshen with less than eight minutes left in the second half helped the Comets beat Lake Taylor 2-1 on Wednesday at Powhatan Stadium. Granby (15-3) plays Menchville in the region quarterfinals.

Kyle Foote admitted the victory was bittersweet.

“I know all of them and they are like my brothers,” he said about the Titan players. “I cheer for them when I’m not playing them, but when we play them, I have to go hard.”

Chris Edmond’s goal midway through the first half gave the Comets the early 1-0 lead. But Lake Taylor tied it eight minutes later on a goal by Ibrahim Barsallo-Wright.

For the next 50 minutes, Granby freshman goalie Davin Field and Lake Taylor’s Marco Bravo-Morales made one save after another. Field made several amazing stops, including one with less than three minutes left that preserved the win.

“He kept us in the game and those saves late were critical,” Granby coach J. Freeman said. “We wouldn’t be here without him.”

After the game, a dejected Greg Foote was proud for his son.

“As a coach, he’s just a player,” he said. “As his dad, I root for him. He’s good and fun to watch. And I’ll be here next week rooting them on.”

What about Kyle’s punishment?

“No Dairy Queen for a week,” Greg Foote said with a chuckle. “We always do Dairy Queen. So no Dairy Queen for him.”

In the girls final, Maury rolled to a 4-0 victory over Granby. Both teams advance to the region tournament next week.

Leading the way was Mary Morgan, who had two goals and an assist. The Commodores (12-6) also got goals from Anna Cronin and Lauren Wilson.

Maury, the Eastern District regular-season champion, plays the winner of the Gloucester-Kecoughtan match in the region quarterfinals. Granby faces Menchville.

“We’re playing the Peninsula, so there’s no slacking off,” Maury coach Christine Bouziane said. “We have to be prepared.”

Boys soccer

Eastern District championship

Granby 2, Lake Taylor 1

G—G, Edmond, King; LT, Barsallo-Wright.

Girls soccer

Eastern District championship

Maury 4, Granby 0

G—Morgan 2, Wilson, Cronin.