Thursday, November 01, 2012

Wednesday Results, Thursday Schedule

FIELD HOCKEY:

The 2012 season came to an abrupt end for Hanover County schools Wednesday night in the Central Region Quarterfinals at River City SportsQuest.  On adjacent fields, Hanover battled Colonial District Champion Maggie Walker Governors School (MWGS) to a scoreless first half.  But in the span of six minute midway through the second, the Green Dragons struck twice, and a late Hawk surge into the MWGS zone, one of the few of the game, fell short.

Though Hanover's final record, 9-10, doesn't sound impressive, it does represent a full season that was, in truth, a tail of two seasons. Losing 17 seniors from last year's state playoff squad, the Hawks got off to a rough start, losing three of its first four before hitting the .500 mark with a win on strokes at home in early October over Atlee. The Hawks were competitive each time on the field, with two very close losses to eventual champion Lee-Davis, one late in the regular season, the other in the Capital District Title game last Thursday. Hanover returns a ton of talent and should be a force again in 2013.

Lee-Davis, too, will be a team to be reckoned with in 2013, returning many stellar players including Capital District Player of the Year Cameron Gibson. But right now, the Confederates are thinking of what may have been.  Lee-Davis, down 1-0 to Douglas Freeman in their Wednesday Regional Quarterfinal, bounced back to tie just before halftime on a Gibson goal, then take the lead when Harper Matthews found the goal in the 41st minute.

The Confederates played stellar defense, holding off four Freeman penalty corners in the waning minutes and getting outstanding individual defensive effort from Madison Angus, whose defense on a breakaway opportunity in the 56th minute singlehandedly kept the Confederates in front.

Lee-Davis held the lead into the final two minutes when Abbey Thornhill found the back of the goal with 1:10 left in regulation, and the Douglas Freeman season was still alive, tied with Lee-Davis at 2-2.

We went to overtime, where Gibson delved deep into the left side of the Freeman offensive zone. But Cameron Gibson's centering pass, though coming precariously close to the Freeman goal, rolled by, with no Lee-Davis player in position to seal the deal.

Five minutes later, Abbey's sister, Sarah Thornhill, had an opportunity, and made the most of it, scoring off a penalty corner to set off the Rebel celebration. Freeman will play Thomas Dale in tonight's semifinals, while MWGS faces Cosby.

VOLLEYBALL:  Patrick Henry split in their Colonial quarterfinal showdowns against MWGS, as the girls team lost in four sets at Godwin, while the boys team overcame the absence of star Scott Brigham to win in four sets.

The Patrick Henry boys now play in tonight's second Colonial semifinal at Freeman, at approximately 7:30, against Deep Run, a team PH defeated last Thursday at home on Senior Night.  The winner of that game faces the winner of the other semi between Godwin and top-seeded Douglas Freeman.  A Freeman win will mean the winner of the PH-Deep Run game also gets a berth into next week's Central Region Tournament.

ALSO TONIGHT:

CAPITAL DISTRICT VOLLEYBALL:

Girls Semis (at Atlee): #1 Atlee vs. #4 Hanover, 6pm; #2 Lee-Davis vs #3 Glen Allen, 7:30pm
Boys Semis (at Highland Springs): #1 Atlee vs. #4 Highland Springs, 6pm; #2 Glen Allen vs. #3 Hanover, 7:30pm...

JV FOOTBALL: Patrick Henry at Mills Godwin, Monacan at Lee-Davis, Varina at Hanover, Highland Springs at Atlee, all 7pm starts!

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