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Looking ahead: Busy slate of playoff games Monday

Photo by Bart Isley

The postseason starts now for Charlottesville High boys soccer.

 

But that shouldn’t change much for the Black Knights. They’ve been on a mission since day one of the 2017 season.

 

Last week, the Black Knights wrapped up an unbeaten run through their regular season including a Jefferson District championship and a pair of sweeps against Western Albemarle and Albemarle’s squads, both defending state champions in Group 3A and Group 5A respectively.

 

Sure both those teams are retooling, but sweeping Albemarle and Western in any year is a big deal for the Black Knights. It’s a sign that they’re tested. They’re seasoned.

 

“These are the kind of games that we’re measuring ourselves,” said Charlottesville coach Stephan Cost after the win over Albemarle. “These are the kind of games that you’ve got to come out and keep working hard.”

 

They’ll get started with a clash with E.C. Glass Monday at 6 p.m.

 

The Black Knights’ girls squad faces Jefferson Forest on the road in the Conference 23 semifinals Monday after picking up a 3-0 victory over G.W. Danville in the conference quarterfinals.

 

Western lacrosse squads host Conference title games

 

Western Albemarle’s lacrosse teams host Charlottesville Conference championship games Monday night with the Warriors’ girls hosting Monticello while the Western boys host a suddenly explosive Charlottesville squad.

 

All four teams have earned Region 4A South Tournament berths already by virtue of their conference semifinal wins, but this will determine seeding. The Western girls beat Monticello twice in the regular season though the Mustangs closed the gap significantly between the two games.

 

The Western boys are the top-seed and beat the Black Knights twice, but Charlottesville made some adjustments offensively recently and caught fire against Monticello in the semifinals, building a 17-1 lead at halftime before finishing with a 21-3 win. Could the Black Knights keep that explosiveness going and upend the Warriors?

 

Tennis squads step into region play

 

Albemarle boys tennis, Albemarle girls tennis and Western girls tennis are all on the schedule to start region tournament play Monday, with the AHS boys and Western girls hosting while the Albemarle girls hit the road.

 

The Albemarle boys host by virtue of winning the Conference 16 team title with a 5-1 victory over Patrick Henry-Ashland. AHS No. 1 David Sun also won the Conference 16 singles title while teaming up with Jack Stalfort for the Conference 16 doubles title.

 

Western’s girls tennis won the Conference 29 team championship while No. 1 Hannah Kearns won the singles title and followed that with a doubles championship, teaming up with Anna O’Shea. The Warriors also have No. 2 Rosy Ix patrolling the court.

 

Albemarle girls tennis fell in the Conference 16 final, but they boast a seasoned lineup with Grace Barrett-Johnson and Beth Shafer at the top of the ladder.

 

Weather plays havoc with tennis as much as any sport all year, and forecasted rain could send these squads scrambling for indoor venues or to other days to compete.

 

Also in win-or-go-home games Monday

 

Albemarle’s boys and girls lacrosse teams have a critical pair of games tonight in the North/West Group semifinals. Win and each team can earn a region tournament berth. Lose and it’ll end their season. The girls host Mountain View while the boys will take on Stafford, also at home.

 

Goochland baseball, softball, girls soccer and boys soccer are all slated to host Conference 34 openers Monday, with softball and both soccers checking in as the No. 1-seed in their tournaments and have pretty manageable paths to securing a region tournament berth. Goochland baseball is the No. 3-seed but they’re also the defending conference champions. They’ll have to survive Nottoway in the first round before likely facing Amelia and potentially top-seeded Randolph Henry to defend their title.

 

Louisa County boys and girls soccer play at Eastern View in elimination games in the Conference 19 tournament

 

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