Monticello got a pretty good start on the road Monday night. But something changed after the break and Charlottesville picked up a 4-0 victory in a critical Jefferson District matchup.
“I think we’ve had a little trouble getting into our style on the road,” said Monticello coach Karen Redd. “To hold them to one goal in the first 20 minutes was impressive. Then that second half had (CHS sophomore) Kendall Ballard’s name all over it.”
Ballard ignited Charlottesville with her relentless style after the break, attacking the goal constantly. She put the game out of reach with a pair of goals late, building on a first half tally by Emily Lichtenberger and a second half goal by Marie Theres Schnieder.
Ballard fought a cold throughout the game and by the end had little to no voice left. It wasn’t the only adversity she faced, as the Black Knights’ first goal of the night, an acrobatic backhand-style blast by Ballard was ruled dangerous by the officials and wiped off the board.
“That’s the referee’s discretion,” Ballard said. “It kind of set us back because we’d just gotten excited about the goal and then they took it away. But I think we handled it pretty well.”
The Black Knights’ effort was crucial as they tried to bounce back from a 1-0 loss to Western Albemarle last Thursday. With the win over the Mustangs, Charlottesville holds onto the No. 2 spot in the Jefferson for the time being.
“This time we came out and did what we wanted to do,” said Charlottesville coach Lindsay Larson. “Monticello came out very aggressive and very strong but I think we were like ‘let’s regroup, let’s play our game’ and that’s what we did.”
Monticello tried to create on some long runs into the zone and on several short corner chances in the second half, but the Mustangs couldn’t punch it in. The Charlottesville defense was stout, with Joanna Kammauff posting another in a string of shutouts this year.
Charlottesville turns around and plays Powhatan Tuesday night while the Mustangs tangle with Western Albemarle Thursday in another critical JD matchup.
