Packers, Jamestown to tangle again, this time for boys soccer state championship
Published 9:22 pm Friday, June 9, 2023
- Members of the Smithfield High School boys soccer team are, back row from left, Jackson Young, Colson Turner, Troy Myers, Eli Allen, Parker Pack, Kevin Parker Jr., Jaylen Marble, Carter Goetz, Gari Serna Alana, Emmanual Castel and Jackson Stanley; third row, Peyton Scheier, Alfredo Franco, Jakob Martin , Tanner Clifton, Tamir Melvin, Aniosime Muepu, Zachary Colbert, Logan Young, Ian Lindsey, Nathaniel Condit, Alec Schwartz, Luke Skinner and Any Muepu; second row, Joshua Vincent, Patrick Leslie, Takari Jones and Jackson Elliot; and seated, Liam Lutz, Carson Henderson and Jeffery Carroll. (Submitted photo courtesy of Elly Condit)
Familiar foes Smithfield and Jamestown will meet again Saturday with a Class 4 boys soccer state championship on the line.
In Friday’s semifinals, Coach Jason Henderson’s Packers, 16-6-1, beat Loudoun County in a shootout after scoreless regulation play. The title game is at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in Spotsylvania County, part of the Virginia High School League’s Spring Jubilee.
Heading into the state tournament, Henderson pointed to a May 5 loss to Jamestown in Bay Rivers District play as a turning point in the Packers’ season.
“We came back to tie it at 3-3 and ended up losing 4-3, but scored three goals in about a span of 10 minutes,” he noted. “I knew then that we had something special. It just took us a long time in the season to figure it out, and we saved that for the regional run.”
On June 1, Smithfield beat Jamestown 4-2 for the Region 4A crown.
The Packers will be looking for their second state title in three seasons. Jamestown, 20-4, advanced to the title game by blanking Jefferson Forest 2-0.
It will be the Bay Rivers rivals’ fourth matchup this season.
A $10 general admission ticket covers access to both the soccer and baseball title games Saturday.
Check SmithfieldTimes.com for results.
