The shots, let alone the scoring opportunities were few and far between for both sides. After an impressively defensive and physical first half, Charlottesville and Harrisonburg each struck in the early moments of the second half before resuming the war of attrition. However, that war came to an end sure enough when Muse Mohamed scored in the last minute of double-overtime to give the Black Knights a second straight Conference 23 championship with the 2-1 win over the Blue Streaks.
“We did this last year and we want to go farther so winning this championship was one of the goals from the start of the season,” said CHS coach Stephan Cost. “That’s a good team we had to beat. We played them in our first game of the year and we tied 1-1. They’re physical. We knew what was coming.”
What came was an old-fashioned game of kick and receive where Harrisonburg simply tried to kick the ball over the Charlottesville defense and let its striker, Mario Lagos chase the ball down.
“(Lagos) is big, he’s fast and he was all over the place,” Cost said. “That really tested us… with the kick-ball teams you have to either pressure the kick or the reception. So we talked over and over that we we’re not getting to the kicks so we switched to the reception. That was a tactical thing we did and I think it worked.”
Charlottesville broke the scoreless tie in the first two minutes of the second half off a corner kick. Barun Tamang took the corner and placed it right in front of the goal where it bounced between defenders and Thomas Birle got just enough of it to tuck it in to the goal.
“That was crazy,” Mohamed said. “They were just trying to clear it and it looked like they got to it but Birle just kept pressuring. That was just a crazy goal.”
However, the celebration was short lived as Harrisonburg tied things back up two minutes later with Taylor Jackson connecting on a shot. From there though, the Black Knights defense was next to perfect, offering Harrisonburg next to nothing in terms of scoring chances. Charlottesville earned three straight corners at the end of the second half and it appeared as though they had the go ahead goal when Mohamed beat the keeper on a shot but Jackson came out of no where to head the ball out of play and keep the game tied.
Little happened in the first overtime, but the pressure ratcheted up in the second. Finally with time winding down and penalty kicks on the horizon, Mohamed — who put on a show all night with his foot work — got an open look close to the net and finished strong.
“I actually didn’t know where I was going to put the ball,” Mohamed said. “Luckily I got my foot on it and it went to the right and I was just thankful. That was such a hard game.”
In goal for Charlottesville, Carter Kitchin made five saves. The shooting was even between both sides at 14-14.
Charlottesville will host its first round Region 4A North matchup on Monday.
