It was Joe Barnd’s first left-footed goal that left the West Springfield defense off balance. It was his second strike — a strong shot coming in the fourth minute of the second overtime — that finally finished off the Spartans.
The W.T. Woodson junior forward’s free kick tally pushed the Cavaliers to a 2-1 victory at Fairfax High Wednesday night and earned his team a birth in the Group AAA state tournament.
Woodson (13-4-1) took the lead in the 32nd minute, but West Springfield tied the game on senior forward Clay Price’s goal in the 70th minute. But seconds later, Spartans junior defender Colin Embrey found himself on the wrong end of a red card, leaving West Springfield with only 10 men for the remainder of play.
Despite the deficit, West Springfield (13-4-2) held their own in the waning minutes, keeping the Cavalier defense on their heels until a Woodson counter-attack drew the foul that led to Barnd’s goal.
“If the keeper is not on his line, look up and take the shot,” Barnd said afterwards about his second goal. “He wasn’t on his line. I didn’t ask for 10 [seconds]. I just hit it.”
Woodson advanced to play the winner of the Lake Braddock-Langley game, which finished after press time.
