Anyone that didn’t know just how valuable Mary Hemenway’s left foot is to the Charlottesville girls soccer squad got a convincing lesson Thursday night.
Hemenway unleashed a barrage of crosses from the left wing against Monticello and connected with teammates on three of them as part of a 4-1 victory for the Black Knights.
“She’s getting better and better every year,” said Charlottesville coach Fernando Opere. “I remember the first year she was a little bit shy but she’s not shy at all now, she’s tremendous.”
Hemenway found Abigail Intolubbe-Chmil on the first two goals, which came almost back-to-back, just 26 minutes and then 24 minutes into the first half. That early jump was critical to the Black Knights controlling the tempo.
“Althea (Pickering) was feeding me a ton of really good balls,” Hemenway said. “She just played them right where there was a ton of space. (Abigail) is so good at finishing my crosses, even if they’re not perfect, she’s on it.”
It was a critical victory for the Black Knights that created a deadlock at the top of the Jefferson District. Monticello, Fluvanna, Western Albemarle and Charlottesville all have two losses now, so the JD title will come down to the final week and a half of district play.
Kelsey Brownrigg then headed the ball in later in the second half, capping a terrific entry from Caroline Bray for the point-blank goal. That gave the Black Knights a 3-0 lead going into the break.
Monticello managed a counterpunch early in the second half when Emily Larabee broke through for a goal. But the Mustangs couldn’t generate enough chances to claw their way back into the contest.
With just over 20 minutes left in the contest, Hemenway’s third assist found Kaitlyn Cost and Cost’s finish gave the Black Knights an insurmountable lead. Hemenway’s abilities allow the Black Knights to take advantage of the school’s significantly wider playing surface that changes the dynamic of the game in a number of different ways over the more narrow pitches other schools play on.
“We are so lucky to have this field,” Opere said. “We practice here and we practice to have this field. On this field it’s not easy to beat us.”
Monticello keeper Deanna Ballard played a strong game despite the Black Knights’ four goals, coming up with 11 saves — a number of them tough ones — on Charlottesville’s barrage of 21 shots.
