VIRGINIA BEACH
Kalab Austria-Etheridge picked a great time to score his first goal for Princess Anne.
The freshman's tally five minutes into the second half against Mills Godwin held up, and the Cavaliers continued their dream season with a 1-0 victory in the Group 5A South Region final.
It was Princess Anne's first boys region title.
Both already earned spots in next Friday's state semifinals at Lake Braddock, where Princess Anne (14-3-3) faces the Broad Run-Tuscarora loser at 5 p.m. Mills Godwin has the winner at 7 p.m.
Princess Anne's victory thwarted a Mills Godwin sweep. The Eagles girls defeated Maury 1-0 in the opener on Paige Franks' second-half goal. Both matches were at the Sportsplex.
The girls teams also had spots in next Friday's state semifinals. Mills Godwin will take on the loser of the Broad Run-Stone Bridge North Region final at 1 p.m., while Maury takes on the winner at 3 p.m.
In the nightcap, Austria-Etheridge took control of the ball just outside of the box, unleashing shot that bent just inside of the right post.
"I did think it was going to go in," he said. "I just turned and saw the shot. Coach always tells us to shoot, so I did."
The goal held up despite a flurry by Mills Godwin (18-2-1) in the final 20 minutes.
"I believed in my team," Austria-Etheridge said. "I thought it would be enough."
The Eagles forced Princess Anne keeper Duncan Wrenn into plenty of action down the stretch. On one attempt, Wrenn leaped into the deep right corner and punched the ball over the crossbar. Many of the other stops seemed routine for Wrenn.
"Most of them weren't really what I'd call shots," said Wrenn, who finished with eight saves. "They were just kind of floating them in knowing that they were taller than our guys. So I just had to take charge and go after them."
Franks' winner in the girls game came seven minutes into the second half of a scoreless match, when she took a feed from sister Claire and sent a well-paced ball into the lower left corner of the goal.
Mills Godwin (19-1-1) finished with a 13-5 advantage in shots, while Maury played without midfielder Star White, who was attending an Olympic Development Program event.
Maury (14-3) had its best opportunity with less than a minute to play, when Darby Moore sent a free kick to frame that forced keeper Kara Vlahcevic to make a miraculous save.
"I thought it had a shot," said Moore, who added that her team suffered a little from playing three games in three nights. "I was a little disappointed that it didn't go in."
Lee Tolliver, 757-222-5844,
lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com
Twitter at @LeeTolliver