Princess Anne rallies past Kecoughtan in boys soccer as ‘setup guy’ scores four goals

POQUOSON – In a surprisingly high-scoring state quarterfinal, Princess Anne netted three goals in a five-minute span of the first half and overtook Kecoughtan 6-3 in a Class 5 boys soccer tournament game Tuesday night.

And it took an unexpected scoring threat from the Cavaliers to finish the job.

Kishin Togashi, who entered the match with two goals in 12 games, doubled his total output Tuesday with four goals, much to the surprise of his coach and teammates.

"We didn't know that Kishin was such a scoring machine," Princess Anne coach Sonny Travis said to his victorious team shortly afterward.

Princess Anne faces the Albemarle-Douglas Freeman winner at 11 a.m. Friday at Riverside High in Leesburg. Albemarle and Freeman will meet Wednesday night.

Togashi, a sophomore, opened the scoring in the 11th minute.

Kecoughtan (14-2-3) wasted little time countering, and two minutes later, defender Rama Clements got tripped up to set up a free kick. While Clements remained prone on the field, teammate Trey Barrett scooped up the ball, placed it on the turf and delivered a perfect bender over the Princess Anne goalie's outstretched arms and just inside the left post.

The Warriors’ next goal put them in the lead for the first time. Brian Cho gained control of a rebound off a Cavaliers player and sent a scorching liner from the left side to right, but inside the net.

Just before halftime, Togashi caught fire, scoring twice in two minutes to swing the momentum, and lead, back to Princess Anne. Michal Korba delivered on the tail end of a two-on-two break to up the Cavs’ lead to 4-2 before Barrett's penalty kick cut the margin to 4-3 at halftime.

"I just felt it today," said Togashi, who headed in a fourth goal early in the second half to give Princess Anne (15-4-1) a needed insurance goal. "I’m usually more of a setup guy."

The midfielder was happy about the timing for his scoring outburst.

"We didn't have the greatest of starts, so I wanted to lead by example," Togashi added.

Freshman Josiah Roberts completed the scoring in the game's 68th minute, and the Cavaliers’ defense held strong, keeping Kecoughtan scoreless in the second half.

"Our guys just battled today," Travis said. "We had to do two things — win our punts and stop them in transition. We did both."

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