Hayes, DeWitt, Duff form JF's scoring machine

FOREST — E.C. Glass’ girls soccer team features the three-headed monster of sophomores Dessi Dupuy, Ashlea Caylor and Nikki Good on attack.

Jefferson Forest counters with nearly as dangerous a duo of sophomore Chelsea Hayes (21 goals) and senior Cameron DeWitt (11 goals, 8 assists). They get plenty of support from fellow senior forward Taylor Duff, who had a goal and four assists in Wednesday’s 7-1 Seminole District semifinal win over Amherst.

“Chelsea’s a very polished striker who strikes fear in the rest of the district, I think, much the same way Dessi Dupuy from Glass does to us,” JF coach Stan Golon said. “At any point in time, she can burn you.

“Cam has wheels, too,” he added. “She can create a lot of havoc with her speed and she has the awareness of being in the right place at the right time and knowing how to finish those headers.”

The Cavaliers lost twice against the Hilltoppers’ high-powered attack, 6-1, 3-0, in non-district matchups with their future Seminole District rivals. Tonight, in the 5 p.m. Seminole District final at Amherst, they get a rematch with Staunton River, which is playing in its final Seminole game before shifting to the Blue Ridge next year.

The Golden Eagles, who are led by junior and freshman sister scoring sensations Amy and Jodi Salyer, lost to Forest in penalty kicks in last season’s district tournament final, after the Cavaliers defeated Liberty in a shootout in the 2007 final.

Staunton River dealt JF its only regular-season district blemish last week, a 2-2 tie.

Hayes scored the first goal in that game, on the continuation of a play after being fouled by a defender just outside the box.

“She had the composure to fight it off,” JF coach Stan Golon said. “She’s so strong mentally. Nobody can affect her or bother her. She gets hit and goes about her business like, ‘This is my job. This is what I do.’”

He said the referees made a good no-call in allowing the Cavaliers to play on with the advantage as long as they maintained possession of the ball.

“Chelsea did a remarkable job of maintaining her balance and fighting through and finishing the play,” Golon said.

She works well in the Cavs’ controlled attack, which emphasizes possession, with short passes and overlapping runs.

“Chelsea puts a lot of pressure on teams, trying to make them make mistakes,” Golon said. “She’s creating and enhancing and finishing opportunities.”

Compared to DeWitt, a lanky and lean cross country runner, Hayes has a powerful lower body and is deceptively quick.

“She stays low to the ground and is very strongly built,” Golon said.

The Cavaliers have clinched the No. 1 seed in the Region III tournament and will host the winner of tonight’s game between Northside and Broadway on Tuesday at JF.

“We’ve had the normal rocky stretches, but we’ve fought through it and I think the best is yet to come,” Golon said. “We’re very confident with seven seniors on the team and we’ve got some experience.”

The Cavaliers lost on a golden goal in the fourth overtime against Harrisonburg in a Region III semifinal at Turner Ashby.

“I think we played very well last year in the regionals and we’ll use that as a springboard for this year,” Golon said.