Ashburn, Va. — Taylor Price has been a force all season long, and when it mattered most, the Briar Woods High School senior forward did not disappoint.
Briar Woods quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead against Frank W. Cox High School in a VHSL Class 5 State semifinal, but Cox scored in the 24’ to grab some momentum.
Price wasn’t going to let the visiting Falcons hold onto that momentum for long and scored goals in the 35’, 43’, and 51’ to stifle the Cox intensity and eventually win their semifinal, 7-1, on June 10 in Ashburn.
“Today felt like all the pieces came together the way we have worked hard to make sure they do,” Briar Woods head coach Caly Bruton said. “We have accomplished every goal we’ve set so far. We always only look just one game ahead, but we knew getting back to the state championship was the ultimate goal.”
[adrotate banner=”57″]Just six minutes into the game, Briar Woods senior forward Lauren Cundey was fouled hard in the box, drawing a penalty. Briar Woods senior defender Kendall DiMillio made Cox pay when she buried the resulting penalty kick into the bottom of the net to give Briar Woods an early 1-0 lead.
“DiMillio is an unreal player, and she’s always there building everything up for everyone else to finish,” Bruton said. “For her to get the PK was unbelievable.”
Briar Woods wasted little time adding to its lead as Price dished a pass to senior midfielder Amanda Dahl, who connected from 20 yards out to increase the Briar Woods lead to 2-0 in the 12’.
“Cox is a high caliber team; they wouldn’t be here if they weren’t one of the best teams in the state,” Bruton said. “The fact that we could put one in early is a big deal. Then to follow that up right away definitely gave us the confidence to know we were out here doing well.”
Then 12 minutes later, Cox was awarded a free kick near the sideline 34 yards out, but the shot on goal was punched away by Briar Woods senior keeper Ana Sadler.
On the ensuing corner, Cox answered back when junior midfielder Caroline Blanchard used her head on the corner by sophomore midfielder Delaney Hood to cut the deficit to 2-1.
“We’ve been taking it game by game, but we came into the season knowing our goal was to get back to the state championship after coming up short last year.”
—Briar Woods senior forward Taylor Price
Then, on a corner on the other end, Price collected the cross, sidestepped a defender, and buried a goal in the lower 90 to re-extend the Briar Woods lead to 3-1.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time as a coach and as a player and I can tell you, she’s at a different level from everyone else on the field, both mentally and physically,” Bruton said. “The greatest part about her is she’s surrounded by people—including herself—who all check their egos at the door.”
Less than three minutes into the second half, Price scored her second goal of the afternoon, heading in a corner off the foot of senior midfielder Kendall Garza.
Then, because two goals weren’t enough, the Virginia Tech commit completed her hat trick, running past the Cox defense before beating the keeper 1-on-1 to increase the Briar Woods lead to 5-1 with less than 30 minutes to play.
“All the credit to my teammates. I know sometimes my name is the one that shows up in the paper, but they set me up in the best ways to allow me to do my job,” Price said. “We have an amazing front line, a great midfield, and a fantastic back line. Everybody always contributes everything they can.”
Even with a four-goal lead, Briar Woods was not content as DiMillio crossed a pass in front of the net to junior midfielder Katelyn Smith who finished the job to put her team up 6-1 in the 58’. Then Briar Woods added one more cushion goal with less than a minute to play when senior midfielder Lilly Mitchell found Cundey open in front of the net for the seventh and final goal of the afternoon.
Briar Woods will now host Region 5A Champion First Colonial in the VHSL Class 5 State championship on June 11 in Ashburn—a rematch of last year’s state title game.
“We’ve been taking it game by game, but we came into the season knowing our goal was to get back to the state championship after coming up short last year,” Price said. “We play in a really tough district, so we knew we’d be prepared down the stretch.”
In 2021, the Falcons had to travel to First Colonial in Virginia Beach, so they’re excited the Patriots will have to make the trip north this time around.
“This is redemption after last year’s chaos,” Bruton said. “We felt like [traveling to First Colonial]was an uphill battle that played a significant factor in where we didn’t show up in that game. Getting to host this year is sweet.”
Katey Jackson captured 250+ photos at the game!
Scoring
| Period | Time | Team | Goal | Score |
| 1H | 6′ | Briar Woods | Kendall DiMillio (PK) | 1-0 |
| 1H | 12′ | Briar Woods | Amanda Dahl | 2-0 |
| 1H | 24′ | Frank W. Coox | Caroline Blanchard | 2-1 |
| 1H | 35′ | Briar Woods | Taylor Price | 3-1 |
| 2H | 43′ | Briar Woods | Taylor Price | 4-1 |
| 2H | 51′ | Briar Woods | Taylor Price | 5-1 |
| 2H | 58′ | Briar Woods | Katelyn Smith | 6-1 |
| 2H | 79′ | Briar Woods | Lauren Cundey | 7-1 |