Like any sport, field hockey has a lot of moving parts and requires certain players to handle the tasks outside the spotlight. Kendal Dowdell has done that over the years for Charlottesville High’s ascendant hockey squad, doing her part to spur an incredible period of growth for the program.
But that doesn’t mean stepping into the full glare of that spotlight for a minute like Dowdell did in a 2-1 win over Western Albemarle doesn’t feel awfully good.
“It’s a lot more exciting when you do something like score a goal,” Dowdell said. “I mean it’s great when you get it out and get it up to the offense, but it’s amazing when you can score a goal, especially the winning goal.”
After the Black Knights’ other Kendall, Kendall Ballard, blasted a shot toward goal with under two minutes to play, Dowdell managed to get a stick on the rebound and re-direct it past the Western goalie for a 2-1 lead that held up as a final and clinched the regular season Jefferson District title for the Black Knights.
“She does all the things that go unnoticed — playing every minute of every game, playing defense, getting back on defense, passing the ball even — she’s not selfish,” said CHS coach Lindsay Larson. “For her to finally get her chance, to hit the game-winning goal, that’s huge.”
The goal was the difference in a tremendous, back-and-forth clash worthy of a district title deciding match. The Black Knights got started with a big play out of the gate as Ballard blasted a ball from near the top of the circle in the first three minutes of the contest, giving Charlottesville a 1-0 lead essentially from the start. But Western managed to steady the ship after that opening volley.
“Once they scored that’s when we woke up — I thought we punched as much as we took punches,” said Western coach Milo Oakland. “You’re losing to a great team and they showed a lot of emotion tonight. I was just, on one level, proud that we were able to match that intensity.”
Western then answered with their own early goal, coming out of halftime and almost immediately finding the equalizer when Isabel Freisitzer finished off a loose ball in front of the cage. From there, it was nip and tuck the entire way, with Western’s defense in particularly standing tall as Charlottesville increased the intensity on offense.
The Black Knights then drew a short corner, which set up Ballard’s opportunity and Dowdell’s finish that gave CHS’s 15 seniors reason to celebrate on senior night.
“This season has been nothing but adversity… the amount of injuries and illnesses everything has just been stacking on us,” Larson said. “To overcome all of them—even tonight we’re missing one of our top players, Caroline Clark, she’s ill — and still come out with wins, I think that’s pretty amazing.”
Both squads will jump into Conference 23 tournament play next week as they each look to extend strong seasons.
