By Tommy Keeler Jr. -- Daily Staff Writer

STEPHENS CITY — Lauren Delmerico has all the trust in the world in her twin sister, Paula. So when she saw that Paula was open late in the game against Sherando, Lauren knew the Judges had a good opportunity to win.

Handley's twin connection paid dividends as Paula Delmerico scored the game-winning goal in the final minute to lift the Judges to a 2-1 Northwestern District girls soccer victory Thursday.

"I just saw some gaps and dribbled through and saw my sister was open," Lauren Delmerico said. "I just got her the ball. She's definitely strong and powerful and I knew she would get it through."

Paula Delmerico, who scored both Handley goals, took the pass and blasted it past Sherando goalkeeper Rachel Shirley with less than a minute left to break the tie. Delmerico fell down as she made the shot and was mobbed by her teammates.

"I was able to break through a couple defenders. I just wanted to get a couple extra touches," Delmerico said. "When it went in I was like 'oh my gosh'. I wasn't expecting it to go in.

"I tend to fall down a lot, so it's no surprise that I fell down. I felt like this surge of energy. I was screaming. It felt good."

Delmerico and her teammates weren't feeling so well earlier in the half when Sherando (8-3-1, 6-3-1 Northwestern) tied up the game. Sherando's Nicole Dirnagl took a pass from teammate Nikki Rhodes, then dribbled in and nailed a shot in the right corner past Handley goalkeeper Anne Cesnik with a little over 14 minutes left in the game.

"It was a great goal," Sherando coach Rob Kilmer said. "It was a great finish by Nicole."

"I was actually out of bounds when they tied it," Paula Delmerico said. "It was frustrating, but we knew we still had plenty of time left. We knew we just had to keep playing like we had been."

Paula Delmerico broke a scoreless tie, sending a shot in the left corner past Shirley with a little over 22 minutes left.

Kilmer said both goals were defensive breakdowns on the Warriors' part.

"We were watching the ball and lost the mark and Handley took care of it," Kilmer said. "Unfortunately, it's been a downfall of ours in the last two games."

Both teams had their share of chances in the first half, but neither could break through. It was a typical game between the two rivals.

The first time the two teams played, it ended in a 2-2 tie. Last year, the Warriors beat the Judges (7-3-2, 7-2-1) in the district tournament semifinals to advance to the Region II tournament.

"It's always fun to play them," Paula Delmerico said. "The games are always close. It's always nice when you can pull one out."

Sherando was coming off a 3-1 loss to first-place Brentsville on Wednesday. The loss drops the Warriors into third place in the district with four games left in the regular season.

"We just need to get our feet back under us," Kilmer said. "Handley's a good team. The kids played hard tonight, I can't fault them for that."

Handley coach Luke Mason said it's been an up-and-down season for his team, but the win over Sherando may be just the boost they needed.

"I think this will help our confidence," Mason said. "If we see them again I think it will give us more confidence. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going."

*Contact Tommy Keeler Jr. at tkeeler@nvdaily.com

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