For a second, Charlottesville was poised to potentially pull off a massive upset and perhaps pick up the biggest win in a long time for the program.
Olivia Hajek’s blast ended that.
Hajek, the Jefferson District player of the year, unleashed a perfect 20-yard shot from just inside the circle to the far post to put Western Albemarle up 2-1 4:44 to play in the contest. The score held and Western Albemarle advanced to the Region II final and, in turn, earned a berth in the VHSL Group AA/A state tournament next week.
“I saw that nobody was in front of me so I went for it,” Hajek said. “And I had a good hit that time.”
Hajek’s game-winning blast came 10 minutes after Charlottesville’s Emily Lichtenberger connected with Kendall Ballard for an equalizer. Ballard, who was the JD offensive player of the year, punched it in from point blank range and set off a celebration by the young, talented Black Knights.
“It was the best feeling in the world — it put a surge of energy through the team,” Ballard said. “This year we have come so far, it’s beyond my expectations. I’m so proud of everyone.”
Charlottesville created several more chances in the span between Ballard and Hajek’s goal, but couldn’t take the lead. The Black Knights, who finish the season 5-9 on the year, did a fantastic job of taking the attack to the Warriors in the entire second half with Ballard and Maddy Eure.
“A lot of times trying to get people to play together with some chemistry it’s a struggle but Maddy and Kendall seem to have it instantly,” said Charlottesville coach Lindsay Clark. “It’s really pretty to see Maddy and Kendall just take it to them and not be afraid to take on one or two or three or four girls at a time.”
The offensive assault certainly seemed to take its toll on the Warriors, and having to exert so much effort to stymie the Black Knights on defense seemed to create an offensive hangover for Western. While the Warriors had been stringing together passes and looked completely in sync over the past two games, couldn’t find the same rhythm against Charlottesville.
“I think their whole offensive attack challenged our defense,” said Western coach Mia Fields. “They kept pressuring, pressuring and pressuring. They’re challenging.”
Hajek was undeterred though, and came up with the critical goal when the Warriors desperately needed it.
“It was a great shot and it’s so funny because I’ve been harping on her ‘go far post,’ ‘go far post’ because I feel like she always goes near post,” Fields said. “And that was a beautiful far post, so good for her.”
Jessie Powell scored the Warriors’ first goal with 18:45 left in the first half. With strong midfield play, Western held onto that 1-0 lead until Ballard broke through midway through the second half.
Ballard’s goal came at the tail end of solid spurt from the Black Knights, who continually won short corner after short corner in the second half.
Western advances on to battle with Fauquier in the Region II final Saturday.
