Virginia Girls Soccer: Madison Prepares for Liberty District Semis

At this time last year, Madison High School's girls soccer team saw the end of its Liberty District run with a heart-breaking loss to Fairfax High in the semifinals.

But staring down the 2013 Liberty District semifinals Wednesday night, the team is hoping to reverse history and post a win against McLean — a victory that would move them on to the Liberty District Finals later this week.

The team (10-4, 5-2 Liberty) is riding momentum from a number of important wins over the past week.

On Monday, the Warhawks came out on top of a 2-1 overtime thriller against cross-town rival Madison High School, with Kaitlyn Dorka scoring and Michelle Paredes getting the winning goal.

Last Thursday,

The success comes in a season that, at the outset, didn't look the way Coach Grant Massey expected it to.

Three experienced players from last year's squad, who Massey anticipated returning to the roster for the 2013 season, could not play for Madison because of a conflict with their club squad.

"That was a bit of an adjustment for me because you prepare for the season and thing about who is going to play where, and you find out [girls] are not allowed to play," Massey said.

The unexpected empty spots created holes Massey had to fill, and quickly.

It took the team a while to find the right people, right positions, and the right formation, "but once we did we can certainly compete with most teams," Massey said.

The team is without a firecracker at the net that can rack up a lot of goals, Massey said. Instead, the team has focused on keeping games close with a locked defense and good goal keeping.

"The fact that we can keep it close gives us a chance in every game," he said, noting most games this year were decided by one or two goals.

The Warhawks' opponent in the Wednesday semifinals, McLean, is one of the few teams to which Madison lost during the regular season, in a 2-1 game May 3.

In that game, McLean "clearly outplayed us," Massey said; the team broke down the Warhawk formation at nearly all points on the field.

In the second half, Madison adjusted to counter the attack and was successful in slowing down McLean's offense — something the team will be looking to do from the start as it heads into Wednesday night's game, Massey said.

The game will still be close: Neither team has "a town of power in scoring," Massey said, so goal keeping and defense will make or break the game.

Massey will be relying on juniors Lexi Graham, Kaitlyn Dorka and Cia Makrigiorgos — all three-year varsity players who earned Liberty District First Team honors this year —for their experience in tough situations.

Morgan Duffy and Paredes, both of whom earned Liberty District honorable mentions, will also be key in creating opportunities, Massey said.

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