The Mathews High School soccer team advanced last night to the Region 1A East semifinal game following victories over Carver Academy and Luray. The team also suffered a 3-1 defeat on Friday to West Point in the Conference 42 tournament.

Mathews posted a 7-1 win over Carver Academy in a conference playoff game last Wednesday, the third meeting of the schools in the past 10 days. With the regular season at an end, the varsity Blue Devils brought up junior varsity players such as Maddie Maggioncalda and Lucas Nunnally to bolster their ranks.

The first half was a surprise for Mathews as the scrappy Carver Panthers succeeded in keeping the Blue Devils’ offense out of their goal for most of the half. The Blue Devils broke the stalemate with a penalty kick by Kevin Jenkins followed by a goal by Jordan Bozza.

The second half was more like the previous games against Carver. Kevin Jenkins started with a goal assisted by Will Hutcheson, and two minutes later, Tyler Jackson also scored. C...