After Outage, Robinson Powers On

It seemed as if someone or something didn't want No. 1 Westfield and No. 5 Robinson to play this season.

Twice their Concorde District contest was postponed because of rain, and with the possibility of more rain later this week, the game was moved to last night. Then, with the two teams finally out on the field at Robinson, power outages knocked out the stadium lights twice, once in the first half and once in the second, causing delays of over half an hour.

But when the lights finally came back on after the second outage the two rivals finally got to play out a game that held significant district implications, and with just over a minute remaining in the second overtime, senior Ben Peek outraced the Westfield defense and toe-poked home a goal to give the Rams the 2-1 win.

"Credit the boys, lights out once, then lights out a second time, to come back on and keep the momentum was huge," Robinson Coach Jac Cicala said. "It feels great to get this game out of the way because this was going to be the decider.

With the win, Robinson avoided dropping to the No. 5 seed in the district tournament and instead will be seeded second, just behind Herndon. Westfield will be the third seed.

Robinson dominated the first half by using quick counterattacks to keep Westfield (9-2-1, 4-2) off balance and prevent the possession-oriented Bulldogs from dictating the pace of the game.

The direct attacks paid off 11 minutes into the game, when a quick counter set up senior Eli Hajjar's right-footed volley to give the Rams a 1-0 lead.

The attack started when senior defender Ted Faris played a long pass down the left sideline to José Noriega, who took a touch and hit a curling left-footed cross to Hajjar in the middle of the 18-yard box. Hajjar's one-time, side-footed volley to the far post gave the keeper no chance and Robinson had the lead.

Robinson (7-2-3, 4-1-1) continued to challenge, with AU-bound senior Seth Goldman nearly extending the lead in the 31st minute when a long ball in the box was headed on to the defender. Goldman headed the ball over the Westfield keeper, but the ball bounced off the top of the crossbar and out for a goal kick.

In the second half, however, Westfield was able to get more touches on the ball, and it didn't take the Bulldogs long to capitalize. Nine minutes into the half, All-Met center midfielder A.J. Sheta pulled the Bulldogs back into the game with a superb strike from the top of the 18.

On the attack, the ball was dropped back to Sheta just outside the 18 on the left side of the box, and the senior hit a powerful right-footed volley that curled away from the keeper, off the far post and into the net, knotting the game at one.

But another long ball from Faris in the second overtime freed Peek and Robinson took the win.

"That was huge, the difference between a two and a five seed," Peek said. "We're fortunate to come out as the two tonight."

No. 5 Robinson 2, No. 1 Westfield 1 Rivals, Co-Workers: Westfield Coach Tom Torres and Robinson Coach Jac Cicala coached against each other last night, but the two are on the same staff during the summer, with Cicala the head coach and Torres an assistant with the W-League's Northern Virginia Majestics. Lockdown 'D': Against Robinson's disciplined defense, Westfield -- which averages more than three goals per game -- was held to one goal for just the third time this season. No. 5 Robinson 2, No. 1 Westfield 1 Rivals, Co-Workers: Westfield Coach Tom Torres and Robinson Coach Jac Cicala coached against each other last night, but the two are on the same staff during the summer, with Cicala the head coach and Torres an assistant with the W-League's Northern Virginia Majestics. Lockdown 'D': Against Robinson's disciplined defense, Westfield -- which averages more than three goals per game -- was held to one goal for just the third time this season.