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Late-game heroics lacking for Robinson boys soccer
The Robinson boys soccer team had motored its way to the Virginia AAA state final using late-game momentum and two timely goals scored by sophomore Alex Makcumbi.
As Robinson coach Jac Cicala worked the sideline, devising a game plan to counter a steady Deep Run attack, that expected late-game goal never happened.
Instead, Deep Run's Bryan Ownby scored the game's only goal -- a right-footed ball inside the left post -- in the 12th minute and Deep Run walked away with a 1-0 win for its first-ever state crown.
“You always believe [in a comeback],” said Robinson coach Jac Cicala, whose team finished 12-5-3. “I'm never concerned when we're 1-0 down. You don't want to be 1-0 down, but in this game anything can happen.”
Robinson had arrived at this point with a pair of dramatic one-goal wins in the first two rounds of the state tournament. Makcumbi scored both game-winning goals as the Rams posted wins over Cox and Thomas Dale.
In the first half, Deep Run controlled play throughout, totaling five shots to Robinson's one. After a halftime talk from Cicala, the Rams shifted to a five-midfielder set in the second half, which resulted in several more offensive chances in the 18-yard box.
The Rams totaled seven shots in the second half and forced three corner kicks, but for both Ben Peek's header and teammate Eli Hajjar's free kick from 35 yards out, Deep Run goalkeeper Cameron Murray had every answer.
“This was a great year and we left over 300 schools behind to get here,” said Cicala, who was searching for his fifth state title after winning four at Lake Braddock from 1982-91. “We had our chances, and a credit to Deep Run ... they picked a lot of them off.”
Robinson senior Seth Goldman, who suffered a knee injury during the Northern Region tournament, tweaked that injury during Friday's semifinal, leaving his status somewhere between questionable and doubtful for Saturday's final.
Though he didn't start, Goldman entered the game with seven minutes to play in the first half and immediately created a scoring opportunity.
Fielding a pass near the right sideline, Goldman teamed with Makcumbi, Peek and Hajjar, whose shot from 20 yards out was snared by Murray with less than five minutes to play.
“I'm not very mobile, but my goal was to just feed [passes] and let people run under them,” Goldman said. “It looked like we had our heads down in the first half. The momentum shifted in the second half, but we were unable to tuck one away.”
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