Monticello’s field hockey squad has lacked scoring punch, particularly in big games, all year. On Tuesday night in the Jefferson District semifinals, the Mustangs got exactly the offensive boost they needed from an unlikely candidate and rolled to a 3-0 victory over Charlottesville out at Western Albemarle.
Kathryn Deane, a freshman who’s suited up for the varsity occasionally this year but mostly played at the junior varsity level, punched in two goals for the Mustangs in her first outing as a permanent member of the varsity.
“She’s going to do a lot for us,” said Monticello coach Katie Owens. “She’s right there beside me asking me ‘can I go in, can I go in.’ Then she gets out here and she hustles. I love that — she’s a scrapper.”
Thankfully for the Mustangs, Owens listened to her freshman forward. Deane gave the Mustangs a 1-0 halftime lead with her first goal and after teammate Madison Combs extended the Mustangs’ lead in the second half, Deane put the game out of reach with her second tally. In turn, Monticello earned the right to host a Region II playoff game next week in addition to the berth in the Jefferson District title game Thursday against Western Albemarle.
“We really improved our passing game tonight,” Owens said. “I do believe Charlottesville dominated at least the entry of the game so we were on our heels a bit but they adjusted well and they fought through it.”
The Mustangs got all three goals in the run of play because Monticello finished the 3-0 victory without drawing a single short corner. Scoring a trio of goals and shutting out the opposition in a highly-competitive game without converting a single set piece is no easy task in field hockey, particularly since the Black Knights created nine short corner opportunities of their own.
Charlottesville’s aggressive tact in the second half helped opened things up a little for the Mustangs after the break. The Black Knights, who played with a lot of energy and dominated possession and control during long stretches of the game, pushed players up into the offensive zone to try and create scoring opportunities.
“I brought up one of my defenders forward because she can also finish and it just decided to go the other way,” said Charlottesville coach Lindsay Clark. “The score doesn’t reflect at all how we played. We didn’t play as solid on defense as I would have liked and didn’t finish our opportunities.”
Charlottesville held a senior night for the squad’s fourth year players before the game because the Black Knights have been forced to play on the road all year as CHS installed turf as the new playing surface. In an interesting twist on the old senior night tradition, the Black Knights received plaques that included the turf material that will serve as the field hockey lines on the new field.
Charlottesville hits the road next week to take on Kettle Run in the opening round of the Region II playoffs.
