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Cave Spring captain Riley Guzo makes a pass past Lord Botetourt’s Katherine Woodward during Friday’s Region 3D final in Daleville. Cave Spring won 3-2 in penalty kicks.
Cave Spring first-year head coach Erin Smith encourages her players during Friday’s victory over Lord Botetourt in the Region 3D final.
Cave Spring captain Riley Guzo dribbles down the pitch against Lord Botetourt during Friday’s Region 3D final in Daleville.
Cave Spring captain Riley Guzo (left) works to control a pass against Lord Botetourt’s Autumn Estrada during Friday’s Region 3D final in Daleville.
Cave Spring captain Riley Guzo dribbles down the pitch against Lord Botetourt during Friday’s Region 3D final in Daleville.
Cave Spring first-year head coach Erin Smith works the sidelines during Friday’s victory over Lord Botetourt in the Region 3D final.
Cave Spring first-year head coach Erin Smith listens to a player during halftime of Friday’s Region 3D final against Lord Botetourt.
Cave Spring first-year head coach Erin Smith directs her defense during Friday’s win over Lord Botetourt in the Region 3D final.
The Cave Spring High School girls soccer team reinforced the same quote throughout the season: “The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit.”
But the Knights are eating the fruit pretty fast after planting it.
With their 9-1 victory over No. 1 seed Magna Vista on Wednesday in the Region 3D semifinals, the No. 5 Knights advanced to the state tournament for the first time in school history. Another win against No. 3 Lord Botetourt on Friday — a 3-2 victory in penalty kicks — secured the school’s first regional championship and a home game in the state quarterfinals, at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Wilson Memorial.
Not that it was easy. The team boasts a first-year head coach — Erin Smith — and 16 underclassmen, including 10 freshmen. Smith planted those seeds less than a year ago, rather than two, three or four years before this season. It paid off all the same.
“We were saying on the bus that it feels like a little weight had been lifted off our shoulders,” Smith said. “We had big goals and making it to states was one of them.”
Smith graduated from Cave Spring in 2013, where she played soccer for four years before attending High Point and playing on the club team there. Her family has ties to the school, too; Smith’s mom spearheaded a movement to build a fieldhouse by the upper field.
“I’ve lived a lot of life up here, that’s for sure,” she said.
Despite the familiarity, Smith said she was hesitant about returning to her alma mater. Her time there had passed and she had moved on to the next stage of her life. But after 30 minutes of practice, she estimated, that hesitation vanished.
“I’ll cry if I talk about it because these girls bring me so much joy. The game brings me so much joy,” Smith said. “When [predecessor] Katie Deneault stepped down last year, it felt like the pieces had fallen together to do the thing I love with the people I love. The girls are what drive me to be here; the girls come first and the game comes second.”
With 10 players who had not seen a minute on the varsity squad entering the season, the Knights needed to build team chemistry and come together fast. Building relationships was crucial. Smith emphasized that same sentiment, writing, “We’re thankful to play the game we love with the people we love” on Instagram posts. And it paid off as the season progressed.
“They make fun of me [for the Instagram captions] … but we mean it,” she said. “The vibes have been really high.”
Of the team’s six sophomores, none have had the impact of captain Riley Guzo — on and off the field.
Smith and Guzo first connected after Guzo’s eighth-grade season on the middle school team. When that year ended, she played a few games on junior varsity, where Smith was the coach. After that, Guzo became involved in Young Life, a ministry program where Smith volunteers, allowing them to form a relationship that transcends soccer.
As Guzo explained the background, Smith intertwined her index and middle fingers. “We’ve pretty much been like this since.”
On the field, Guzo scored two goals in the semifinal on Wednesday and the game-winning penalty kick in the final on Friday. Off the field, before the season began, the team selected her as one of its captains.
“I’m kind of a natural leader,” Guzo started.
“She definitely is,” Smith interjected.
“So I stepped into that role,” Guzo continued. “I feel like it just happened naturally because my teammates are younger.”
A few days after tryouts, all players who were interested in a team captain role presented a speech to the team. After Guzo’s speech, she won unanimously.
“She gets along with anybody in this world,” Smith said. “She’s personable, she’s strong-willed and confident and a solid player. She’s the teammate you want, on and off the field. When she talked about the ease of stepping into it, it really was her personality. It’s just who she is.”
Behind Smith and Guzo, the Knights (14-4-2) are marching into the state tournament for the first time, through their best season in school history. They are eating the fruit soon after planting it, but with so many underclassmen, they will be poised to continue eating it for years to come.
Sam Mostow
540-777-6474
samuel.mostow@roanoke.com
QUARTERFINAL
Wilson Memorial at Cave Spring
Tuesday, 6 p.m.
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Cave Spring captain Riley Guzo makes a pass past Lord Botetourt’s Katherine Woodward during Friday’s Region 3D final in Daleville. Cave Spring won 3-2 in penalty kicks.
Cave Spring first-year head coach Erin Smith encourages her players during Friday’s victory over Lord Botetourt in the Region 3D final.
Cave Spring captain Riley Guzo dribbles down the pitch against Lord Botetourt during Friday’s Region 3D final in Daleville.
Cave Spring captain Riley Guzo (left) works to control a pass against Lord Botetourt’s Autumn Estrada during Friday’s Region 3D final in Daleville.
Cave Spring captain Riley Guzo dribbles down the pitch against Lord Botetourt during Friday’s Region 3D final in Daleville.
Cave Spring first-year head coach Erin Smith works the sidelines during Friday’s victory over Lord Botetourt in the Region 3D final.
Cave Spring first-year head coach Erin Smith listens to a player during halftime of Friday’s Region 3D final against Lord Botetourt.
Cave Spring first-year head coach Erin Smith directs her defense during Friday’s win over Lord Botetourt in the Region 3D final.
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