Northern Virginia Majestics forward Stephanie Gerow had space to work with Monday afternoon.

That meant nothing but trouble for NOVA FC.

Give Gerow an opening, or even one extra step to turn anywhere near the net, and it’s basically an invitation to shoot.

And that’s what the 19-year-old does better than anyone on the Majestics Super Y U-20 squad. She finds open space to work with and uses it to create goals.

“I know I play on top and I’m supposed to score but I also look for assists,” she said. “I look for the open player and look for the best opportunity.”

On the final day of the regular season at Hellwig Memorial Park, Gerow was most often the open player. She scored two goals — one in each half — in a 4-0 victory that clinched second place in the South Atlantic Division.

As a rising sophomore at William & Mary, Gerow is one of the Majestics’ most accomplished players. She leads the team with six goals and is one reason the U20 squad is in the running for a national tournament wild-card berth for the second straight summer.

“We had a really good season last year and this year was just like a continuation of it,” she said. “We have a lot of talent on this team and we’re hoping for that bid.”
The Majestics (6-2) are especially good at scoring goals. They have produced 22 in eight games — tops in the division — with Crissy Parker and Brittany Klippstein contributing four each.

Gerow is usually right in the middle of things, too.

That’s sort of her thing. In addition to being an indoor track star at West Potomac High School, she set a school scoring record with 22 goals as a sophomore and went on to become a team captain as well as an all-state performer.

She also led the VISTA Hot Shots club team to the 2007 Washington Area Girls Soccer Championship and was a part-time starter as a freshman for a William & Mary squad that won the Colonial Athletic Association championship last fall and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Against NOVA FC on Monday, Gerow added to that legacy by winning a one-on-one battle in the middle of the goal box.

“My coach says I’m good at running into space and getting the ball, but I’ve got to work on my one-on-one. I tried that when I faced up,” she said. “I got a really good through ball and I realized the girl wasn’t really marking me so I had time to turn. I didn’t even look at the goal, I just looked down and I hit it.”

With the ball at her feet and the closest defender trailing by several paces, Gerow turned and fired a shot into the left corner of the net.

Her second goal — a breakaway into a wide-open net — required much less effort.
“I thought about, you know how you get on the ground and head it in because it’s going so slow, I thought about it but decided nope, that wouldn’t be nice,” Gerow said.

So she lightly tapped the ball across the goal line instead, capping a shutout victory that also featured goals by LeighAnne Baxter and Klippstein along with assists from Annemarie Irwin, Valerie Klemencic and Erin Proctor.

“We have some really good players,” Gerow said. “It’s not like playing in an adult league or something. You get coached and you get to play with other good players, so it really prepares you for the [college] season.”