Charlottesville’s field hockey team spent the first half of the season settling in and growing up. The Black Knights have spent the second half of this year picking up steam.
“It’s always been about trying to improve one game at a time and now we’re killing it,” said Charlottesville coach Lindsay Larson. “We’ve come so far from the beginning, we’ve got our confidence, we’re trusting each other, we’re working well together.”
The third-seeded Black Knights shut out John Champe 4-0 in the Conference 22/23 opening round Monday night and they now advance to battle Kettle Run in the conference semifinals after the Cougars shut out E.C. Glass Monday.
Goals from Ellen Yates and Ashley Clark in the first half allowed Charlottesville to build a 2-0 lead before halftime, but the Black Knights weren’t to content to just sit back on defense with that advantage. They stayed on the attack with Annie Webber striking in the early stages of the second half before Ashlyn Cherrix unleashed a blast from the top of the circle off a short corner to put the Black Knights up 4-0.
Charlottesville’s scoring of late has come from all over the lineup, making them particularly tough to mark and contain. That’s a testament to both their growth and a team-first approach on that side of the field.
“They really trust their team, it’s a lot of unselfishness,” Larson said. “That’s a huge asset for us, I think that’s the direction this program is headed in and I’m really excited for it.”
The other side of the field held up well too as the defense overcame a couple of key missing parts in Millicent Schlegel and Helen Atkins to post a shutout. Senior goalie Rebecca Stuphin played well in the cage once again for the Black Knights.
“It really shows that anybody can get it done for us out here,” Larson said.
The Black Knights will take on a Kettle Run squad that ended their season last year, this time in the conference semifinals with a region tournament berth on the line.
