Ashburn, Va. — When the Loudoun Valley and Loudoun County High School field hockey teams headed east for their regular season matchup, the top spot in the Dulles District standings was on the line. For the Captains, a win meant a share of first place for the time being; and for the Vikings, a win meant maintaining sole possession of the No. 1 seed with less than two weeks left in the regular season.
After Loudoun Valley controlled possession in the first half, the Captains got a few chances in the second half—including a corner with less than two minutes in regulation—but Addison Acham’s goal late in the third quarter proved to be the difference as the Vikings outlasted the Captains, 1-0, on October 6 in Ashburn.
“The girls have put in a lot of work. They’ve fought through so much, including a middle-of-the-season lull,” Loudoun Valley head coach Melissa Ferrara said. “Tonight was a relief for them, and it feels great just to be a part of it.”
[adrotate banner=”10″]The first moment of relief came in the waning seconds of the third quarter when Loudoun Valley sophomore midfielder Katie Clarke dribbled the ball downfield against the stalwart Loudoun County senior defender Olivia DeWan.
“Katie Clarke puts every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears out on the field,” Ferrara said. “I see her rising to the occasion, and she brings the team up with her. Everyone out on the field sees her game and tries to rise to her level.”
After making her way past midfield and into the scoring circle, Clarke found sophomore forward Addison Acham who connected on a goal to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead.
“It was a relief for a second, but that’s usually when things come back at you,” Ferrara said. “I knew we needed to stay focused and stay ready.”
Even with a 1-0 lead, the Vikings knew they needed to defend that lead for the next 12 minutes and behind the leadership of Clarke and senior defender Emma Curtis, Loudoun Valley fended off attack after attack down the stretch.
“The defense has been getting better and better and better throughout the season,” Ferrara said. “They were supporting each other tonight and were just brick walls. The defense was stellar the entire night.”
With less than two minutes to play, the Captains got their final opportunity of the game when they earned a penalty corner. However, as they had throughout the night, the Loudoun Valley defense stepped up and cleared the ball down the sideline to fend off Loudoun County and preserve the 1-0 victory.
“Those last couple seconds, when I saw we had possession, that was the real relief,” Ferrara said.
With just two regular season games remaining, the Vikings (6-0, 10-2) are in control of their own fate and will look to get one step closer when they host Broad Run (4-2, 6-6) on October 11.
“It’s senior night so it’s going to be an emotional game, but we have to keep our head in it and stay focused,” Ferrara said. “They’ve just been getting better and better as the season’s gone on, and it’s been really fun to watch them grow.”
Scoring Plays
Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
3Q | 0:50 | Loudoun Valley | Addison Acham | 1-0 |