DIVISION STANDINGS

6-2 Fredericksburg Generals
6-4 Winchester Impact
3-5 Richmond Rowdies
2-2-4 Maryland Tigers
2-2-4 Virginia Legacy

Mar 3, 2008: IMPACT WIN FIRST PLAYOFF GAME in exciting fashion. Down 9-2 at the half the Impact mustered an impressive push in the second half in front of 250 wild cherring fans. With a final of 16-13 the Impact move on to play for the Division Championship in Fredericksburg, VA on Saturday, March 8 at 8PM.

Feb 25, 2008: SIX STRAIGHT WINS to close out the season! The Impact extended their wining streak to six in Ohio Sunday night with a victory over the Cleveland Pride 18 - 12. After a sluggish start in the first half, the Impact gained the lead going into half time 10 - 8, with goals from Terry Hudson and Mike Koper. The second half found Winchester imposing more style and purpose on the pitch as their legs loosened up from the long drive. Thiago Silva found the net twice and Sebastian Salazar once for the Impact during a fourth quarter stretch that put the game out of reach. Newcomer Brian Garretson minded the goal for Winchester, who played without four members, including goalie Chirs Peter, who will return for the much anticipated home playoff game this Sunday, March 2nd, at 6 pm.

Feb 18, 2008: ANOTHER HOME VICTORY places the Impact at .500 for the first time this season. Winchester's team beat the Richmond Rowdies 22-16 on Sunday, Feb 17th at the Sportsplex in Winchester. Next game is versus the Maryland Tigers at the Sportsplex in Frederick, MD on Wednesday, Feb 20 at 8PM.

Feb 11, 2008: THREE STRAIGHT WINS launches the Winchester Impact into 2nd place in the PASL Mid-Atlantic Division! The team had their best-ever performance in front of a home crowd of 205 cheering fans, totaling 23 points vs. just 6 by the Virginia Legacy. A tremendous team effort on both offense and defense was responsible for the strong showing. Mike Koper and Gui Fonseca each had 3 goals and an assist. Martin Ortiz had 2 goals (including a 3 pointer) and 3 assists. The remaining goals were scored by Terry Hudson, Mike Danielson, and Manuel Barcia. Once again, Chris Peter had an outstanding game in goal.

The next Winchester Impact game is Sunday, Feb 17th at 6PM at the Sportsplex in Winchester. The Impact will attempt to erase the memory of their worst game, a 10-0 loss in Richmond on Jan 12, when they face the Rowdies at home. This game will benefit the Hayden Barnes Ellias Memorial Fund.

Feb 7, 2008: Feb 10 Impact Game admissions to benefit the Mark Hasson Foundation. Mark was a four year starter for Shenandoah University Hornets and selected to the second team ALL USA South after both his junior and senior years. With such a bright soccer future ahead of him Mark passed away on Feb 6, 2007. The Impact players, many of whom played side-by-side with Mark, have chosen the Feb 10 game to remember their lost teammate. $2 per ticket will go to the Mark Hasson Foundation. Please show your support by joining us for this special game.

Feb 2, 2008: Winchester moves up in the division standings with a win over second place team Virginia Legacy. The Impact took an early lead with a goal by Thiago Silva and never trailed in the game. The Legacy pulled even midway through the first quarter but a breakaway goal by Gui Fonseca put the Impact back in the lead minutes later, just after a great penalty kill defensive stand. Gui added two more goals in the second quarter and the Impact continued to play with confidence, moving the ball around well on the power play for one of the second quarter goals.

The Legacy battled back to tie midway through the third before Gui scored his fourth goal of the evening to give the Impact a 10-8 edge. The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth battle that had the Legacy pulling even once again. Aaron McGuiness found his first goal of the season with a blast from three point range with just a few minutes left. The Legacy scored again but couldn't find the momentum to pull out the victory. Once again, a great team effort proved to be the key for the Impact.

Jan 26, 2008: The Impact shocked the PASL world by defeating the undefeated, toppling Goliath (the Fredericksburg Generals) from the winless bottom position in the division. Though the Impact played the Generals tough on Jan 6, not many expected Fredericksburg's first loss to be at the hands of Winchester's expansion team.

The come-from-behind victory was physical from the start. Penalties and an unfortunate "own goal" found the score 9-2 midway through the second quarter in favor of the Generals. By halftime, however, the Impact narrowed the gap 9-4 with a power play goal of their own. The third quarter saw a momentum shift for the Impact closing with the score tightened to 9-8.

The fourth quarter became a back and forth affair with Winchester's team shocking the sellout crowd with a lead taking goal. Moments later the Generals responded to regain the lead and the roar of the fans. With just 6 minutes remaining the Impact proved resilient by again scoring to take the lead 12-11.

With Fredericksburg forced to press forward in the final 3 minutes in a furious attempt to remain undefeated, the Impact counter-attacked to buffer the lead near the 2 minute mark. The final 120 seconds had both teams battling, the Generals pounding the attack while the Impact held strong. Chris Peter once again made one miraculous save after another.

The final released the Impact into a new dance of celebration. With their first win of the season they had done what none other had this season. The intense team effort by Winchester rewarded a total of 7 goals: 3 from Mike Koper, 2 from Gui Fonseca, one from captain Terry Hudson, and one from Martin Ortiz.

Jan 20, 2008: Opening the season with four straight losses the Impact take their efforts on the road. Jan 26 the team will face the Generals in Fredericksburg in a rematch of the exciting 10-8 game played in Winchester on Jan 6. Impact face 2nd place Virginia Legacy in Williamsburg, VA on Feb 2nd.

Jan 12, 2008: The Impact suffered a devastating loss to the Rowdies in Richmond by a score of 10-0. Though the game action looked much more balanced than the score, the Impact missed on several golden scoring opportunities. There were long stretches of play where the Impact controlled the ball and the pace of the game. Failure to put it past the Richmond goalkeeper was the problem.

Impact players will regroup with practices before the Jan 20 home game versus the undefeated Central New York United. The game starts at 6PM and will provide plenty of intense action for the Winchester crowd. Impact games have proven to be a great time for soccer families with the early evening time slot and child-oriented ticket prices.

Jan 6, 2008: The Impact gave the division-leading undefeated Fredericksburg Generals their toughest fight of the season with the game winning goal trickling in with just a minute left in the game. The Impact looked strong early on with a flurry of scoring chances including some shots missing by inches in the first few minutes. The veteran Generals remained unshaken and soon mustered their own opportunities to gain a 6-2 lead at halftime. Impact team captain Terry Hudson electrified the crowd with an amazing dance move of footwork to fake two defenders in the corner and place the ball quickly in front of the goal for an easy Trey Brown shot to start the Impact scoring.

The crowd of 270 continued cheering strong as the Impact shocked the PASL veteran Generals by scoring a 4th quarter goal for an 8-8 tie. The play of goalkeeper Chris Peter was astounding and had the crowd roaring with every acrobatic save. Then, with one minute left in the game Chris raised up to make a save on a shot that turned out to be nearly missed by the shooter. The ball went in slow motion as it barely nipped Chris' foot, then the wall before trickling in for the game winner. The only bad mark on the game was a waived off goal by Impact Mike Danielson from a free kick. One referee was distracted by players questioning the call as Mike's shot sailed past Generals goalkeeper Tommy Haggerty.

Despite the loss, Impact players and fans felt good about their performance in just their second Premier Arena Soccer League Game. The Winchester Star newspaper had a reporter cover the game and highlight footage can be seen on TV3 Monday at 7 & 11PM as captured by Sebastian Salazaar. The Winchester Impact host the Central New York United in their next home game on Sunday, February 20th at 6PM.

Coaches contact information is on the Roster page.