Chancellor reaches Class 4 semis with victory over Loudoun
Two quick goals off corners got the Chancellor field hockey team rolling in a Class 4 quarterfinal Tuesday night, and the Chargers cruised to a 4-2 victory over visiting Loudoun County to advance to the state semifinals.
Just 40 seconds into the second quarter, Maddie Anderson scored on a corner assist from Addy Watkins. On the very next corner three minutes later, Hailey Waurio drilled it into the back of the net on another assist from Watkins.
"When we are on, we are on," Chargers head coach Jim Larkin said after the victory. "Loudoun County is a good team and we jumped on them early, which was very important for us."
Loudoun County (17-4) cut the lead in half late in the third quarter on a goal from Kenzie Feeney off Hadley Boehret's assist, but the Charger defense made a stand the rest of the night.
"Our girls had a lot of communication and teamwork tonight, (and) once we settled down and played our game we scored," Loudoun County head coach Margaret Darby said. after the loss.
The Captains fell last year 3-1 at Courtland in the quarterfinals and when asked about that, Darby said: "These girls played their hearts out and that's all we could ask for. We had three (all-state) players last year and we (were) hoping to give them a state championship this year."
The Chargers were led by Watkins, who had three assists and one goal on the night. She has tallied 116 total points for the season, setting a school record.
Watkins and seven other Chargers got VHSL All-Region recognition this season. Trinity Mason, Ellen Gallagher, Hailey Waurio, Maia Fissel, Maddie Anderson and Julie Dillard all got first-team honors while Ariel Barrera earned a second-team nod.
With its chase for a state title very much alive, Chancellor (19-1, 15-0 Battlefield District) now looks ahead to Friday night's state semifinal bout against Powhatan at First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach.
The Chargers were state champions in 2012 and 2018. If Chancellor closes out the weekend with two victories, it would mark another six-year interval when the Chargers reclaimed the Class 4 crown.
"Every game I tell them we aren't playing an opponent, we are playing ourselves," Larkin said. "We need to be cleaner and smarter. (We) just (need to) play our game and we will be okay."
If Chancellor can defeat Powhatan (18-0) on Friday night, they will face the winner of Loudoun Valley-Gloucester contest on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Ocean Lakes High School.
Brandon Roberts: 540/374-5440
