By Nick Eilerson/Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
With 60 minutes already off the clock and still no goals registered, it seemed Monday night’s critical showdown between district powers Charlottesville High School and Western Albemarle might end in a deadlock. But then junior midfielder Saskia Owens made a hustle play that drove the Black Knights through the ice.
As the ball scurried quickly towards the end line, everyone gave up on the play and braced for the impending goal kick. Everyone, that is, except for Owens, whose ensuing effort was later likened to “a Messi goal” by her coach. Owens somehow chased the ball down and found herself with plenty of room on the sideline. Rather than dribble towards goal, she immediately sent a cross to senior midfielder Ellie VonStorch, who confidently drilled her shot into the net to give CHS its first goal in a 2-0 victory.
“I saw that I had a chance to get it, and it was just instinct to go for it,” Owens said. “I saw Ellie waiting for it, and she finished it, which was awesome. It felt amazing because we were all really hoping for a goal obviously and the tension was getting high.”
Indeed, tension was building rapidly with every waning minute, as CHS continued to pour on the pressure during a dominant second half performance. The Black Knights responded to an uninspiring first half effort by cranking up their energy on the attacking end, which resulted in several scoring chances that were thwarted by a sturdy Western defense anchored by its athletic goalkeeper, sophomore Emily Marbury. CHS kept knocking on the door, and the Owens/VonStorch combination finally broke it down in the 60th minute.
“This was a very even game, and it’s always that way with Western,” CHS coach Fernando Operé said. “I said whoever keeps more energy, especially mental energy, is going to win the game. And I think in this case our girls showed that they have the mental energy to carry the game, and it was a beautiful finish.”
Western initiated the first real scoring opportunity for either side in the 5th minute of the match, when freshman forward Alexis Hucek and sophomore midfielder Marina Clark combined for a beautiful series of give-and-go’s at the edge of the box. Clark found herself one-on-one with CHS keeper Emily Thomas at the end of the exchange, but she blasted her shot wide of the target. CHS then came up with two solid chances of its own, but a pesky Marbury and the crossbar kept the score knotted at zero heading into the break.
The Warriors nearly answered VonStorch’s go-ahead goal in the 63rd minute off an effort from Kelsey Swanson. The senior midfielder hammered a shot on frame, only to be foiled by a diving save from Thomas. Swanson nearly knocked in the rebound, but Thomas came up big again to steer the ball away from danger.
Sophomore forward Mary Hemenway put the match away three minutes from time with a skillful shot from long range. Taking her time with her dribble a few yards outside the box, Hemenway suddenly unleashed a shot that sailed high over Marbury’s head and dipped under the crossbar for the game’s second and final goal.
Western pressed with a few viable counter attacks but was never quite able to penetrate the Black Knights’ back line.
“We didn’t play our game,” Western coach Lesly Gourdet said. “I think [CHS] came out very strong, very physical, and we’re a very young team, so that kind of took a bit of wind out of us. But we could have played a better game, not to take anything away from them.”
CHS will look to ride its wave of momentum into a Thursday game at Louisa, while Western will return home for a Thursday bout with Monticello.
