On a cold and wet Tuesday night at Charlottesville high, sixty minutes was not enough to determine a victor. Charlottesville and Monticello field hockey went the distance and into the final minute of overtime before Reese Murray got loose in transition and scored to give the Mustangs the 1-0 victory.
“I saw my opportunity,” said Reese Murray after the win. “I knew I had to get it past the girl who was defending me.”
For most of the game, however, it seemed that it was only a matter of time before Charlottesville would take over the lead and the game. The Black Knights were consistently on Monticello’s end of the field and had several opportunities to get on the board.
After a slow first quarter that saw neither team generate quality shots on the offensive end, both the Mustangs and the Black Knights had a few scoring opportunities in the second quarter on penalty corners but were unable to convert.
Late in the first half, a ball ricocheted and struck Charlottesville’s Julia Smith in the forehead. Smith, who was Charlottesville’s lone senior celebrated before the game on senior night, left the game and did not return.
In the second half, the Charlottesville offense relentlessly attacked the Monticello goal and had several scoring opportunities on transition plays and penalty corners. Monticello’s defense, led by freshman goaltender Ava Barnes, held strong.
“There’s obviously some risks and nerves that come into play when we’re down on our end defending our goal but we have a solid goalkeeper,” Monticello head coach Kaitlyn Bodine said. “[She] has stepped up and come to play this year. She’s shown that she’s meant to be on varsity from the get-go. We’re really proud of her and everything she’s done for this team. It’s just incredible to watch her play.”
Charlottesville had several shots come close to breaking the tie in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, but the play of Barnes and the Mustangs defense kept the game scoreless through the end of regulation.
In overtime, the ball continued to stay on Monticello’s end of the field as the Black Knights continued their attack. With under a minute left in the overtime period, it appeared the game was destined to head to a shootout. With the ball deep in the Mustangs’ territory, Monticello’s Kendall Gibson sent the ball ahead on a fast break to Reese Murray who had just one defender to beat. Murray got past her defender and put the ball in the back of the goal to win the game with just forty seconds remaining.
“We were actually getting ready to sub Reese,” said Bodine. “And we were like ‘no, she’s got it. She’s got it.’ And sure enough, she made it happen. She finally got a little half of step on that defender, got around, centered it, and couldn’t have turned out more beautiful.”
The Mustangs face a quick turnaround with a Wednesday road clash with Orange County while the Black Knights are slated to host Western Albemarle Thursday.
