By Angela Watts
Content Editor
There was so much excitement and drama during Wednesday’s Northern Region field hockey quarterfinals at Oakton that it was easy for everyone to forget they were missing trick-or-treat night at home.
Sure, there was the subtle reminder of a few costume-clad fans. But they were far overshadowed on this chilly Halloween night by first Langley, then W.T. Woodson and Chantilly and, finally, Oakton.
Each quarterfinal game seemed to one-up the next.
The Saxons were the first to move to the semifinal round, defeating Edison, 3-0, in the only shut out of the night. Langley got goals from junior forward Katy Wingo, senior midfielder Faith Adams on a penalty stroke and senior forward Skye Lu off a corner. It was an impressive performance for a team that seems to have rebounded nicely from its only loss of the year in its district championship game.
“My kids realized after that loss that they needed to step it up, that now their goal was the regional tournament title and they had to come out here strong and do something about it,” Langley Coach Jennifer Robb said. “We definitely started off a little bit slow tonight but then when we got things together I thought that we just got better and better as it went on.”
Then it was the Cavaliers’ – the lone team to defeat those Saxons – turn to take center stage. W.T. Woodson trailed Mount Vernon, which scored on a gal by junior forward Grace Valentine, as time expired in regulation. But a penalty was called at the final buzzer, and since the game can not end on a defensive penalty the Cavaliers were allowed to execute one corner after time had expired.
Senior defender Lyndsey Butler inserted the ball to junior Becca Geist, who quickly tapped it to sophomore Shelly Montgomery for the shot. She fired cleanly and found the back of the cage to send the game to overtime. The Cavaliers’ did it again with only 1 minute, 12 seconds left in the second overtime period as Butler inserted a corner to Geist, who this time went right to senior defender Sarah Martin for the shot – another goal – and a 2-1 victory.
“Every second of every practice we practice our corners,” said Geist, who said both scores came off designed plays. “My job is to stop the ball, and then depending on the play either to either shoot it or fake a shot and pass it to one of my teammates on the side. On Shelly’s, I was so scared. When I was passing it to her I thought I passed it too hard, but she hit it as hard as she could and it went it. She started crying immediately; it was an awesome feeling.
“And then with Sarah’s, I was so tired that I just kind of flung it out there and she just happened to hit it and it was good. I couldn’t believe it.”
Next up was the Chargers, who continued their best season Coach Ralph Chapman’s 17-year career with a hard-fought, 2-1 victory over South County. Tied at 1 at half time after Charger senior forward Lauren Gural and Stallion sophomore forward Megan Wears had traded goals, Chantilly rallied in the second half with a goal by senior midfielder Kaylie Wallace with 20:32 remaining and held on for the victory.
“We played kind of iffy in the first round and I chalked it up to jitters,” Chapman said. “But tonight, [South County was] good. I want to give them all the credit in the world, they played a great game. … We didn’t get the corners that we needed tonight, we just didn’t do it.
“We played hard tonight, but we miss-hit a lot of balls. We were in a big rush to get something done and we didn’t take time and patience. I know we’re capable of playing a lot better and hopefully we’ll do that on Friday night. But
they still have heart. Even when they’re not playing well they make
things happen.”
After the Chargers won the Concorde District tournament for the first time in Chapman’s tenure last week the long time coach paid up on a 17-year old promise: If his team won the district title he’d come to school in a field hockey kilt. He kept his word, and now the girls say that a school administrator has promised to shave her head if they win the regional title. But Chapman is convinced his players don’t need those kind of stakes anymore.
“These girls have heart and they want this for themselves and for each other,” Chapman said. “That’s all the motivation they need.”
Last to earn a berth into the semifinal round was the host Cougars, who made the wait well worth the while for their fans as they pulled out a 2-1 victory over a solid Lake Braddock team.
Oakton senior defender Devin Grimm will deservedly be the player everyone is talking about at tournament’s end for her gutsy performance in the night’s final game. Grimm left the field about 10 minutes into the opening half with a gash to the left side of her chin. Trainers on scene used butterfly bandages to stop the bleeding, but told her the wound would need stitches.
Grimm was on her way out to the hospital, but stopped when she reached the far corner of the field and turned around.
“I just couldn’t keep walking,” Grimm said. “I decided I needed to stay and finish out the game and then go to the hospital after. I grew up with my dad [former Redskin Russ Grimm] being a really tough guy and he always put a lot of pressure on me and my three brothers to stick it out as long as we could. When it first happened I thought I had to leave because there was blood everywhere, but as soon as I calmed down I knew I had to stay.”
She not only stayed, but came back to Oakton’s sideline and quickly traded her blood-stained No. 21 jersey with teammate Megan McHie (a junior goalie who wears No. 20) for a clean one. Almost as soon as she was ready to play a penalty stroke was called for the Cougars.
Grimm took it — and made it.
“We had been practicing strokes all week and she’d been putting every single on in,” Oakton Coach Lizzie McManus said. “When she got injured it was bad enough not to have her on the field, but we were hoping to God she wouldn’t go to the hospital because injured or not she’s the toughest girl out there. And the stroke … it was almost like a golden opportunity. She had to do it.”
Grimm later assisted on Oakton’s second-half goal by junior forward Danielle Filipponi to give the Cougars a 2-0 advantage. Lake Braddock got on the board with 4:25 to play on a goal by junior Annie Stephens, but would get no closer.
“This is so bitter-sweet,” said McManus, whose sister, Molly McManus is an assistant coach for the Bruins. “My sister is the assistant coach and because they’re … they’re awesome. And I know every single one of their players. It’s just sad to see a good team go. I’m sad that we had to hit them so early, but I’m glad we won. We played a good team and won.”
** To see video highlights from all four games, as well as a video interview with Chantilly’s Katie Stillwell and Kaylie Wallace, click on the “field hockey” sports central link at the top of the home page.
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