The first-round match of this season's girls state tournament turned out to be closer than expected for the host and favored Yorktown Patriots, who held on to nip the Woodson Cavaliers, 10-9.
Yorktown (19-1) fell behind early, 2-1, rallied to build a 9-4 halftime lead, then were outscored 5-1 in the second half. A defensive stop about 10 yards in front of Yorktown’s goal in the game’s final two seconds iced the close victory, as Woodson attempted to tie the Virginia High School League’s Class 6 state-tourney match.
The one-goal win was Yorktown’s closest this season, as the Patriots upped their winning streak to 18. The 10 goals were the team’s second-fewest in a match this spring, as Woodson’s deliberate slowdown approach on offense, then second-half rally, kept the match tight.
Yorktown’s Olivia Stafford scored what become the winning goal, with 7:18 to play in the contest, giving the Patriots a 10-8 lead and stopping Woodson’s unanswered four-goal run.
The Cavaliers cut the lead to 10-9 with 2:36 to play, then had a couple of possessions as they attempted to tie the score.
Yorktown defeated Woodson (10-8-1), 15-6, during the regular season.
In the state match against Yorktown, Stafford scored three goals and had an assist, Elizabeth LaPierre had two goals and one assist, Helene Lydon had a goal and one assist and Mairin Almy, Corinne Rigoli, Olivia Bergeson and Lila Almy scored a goal each.
Victoria Carcillo and Kelly Brown were in goal for Yorktown.
Next for Yorktown, which won its only state crown in 2022, is a state-semifinal match against the Battlefield Bobcats (15-5-1) at 5:30 p.m. on June 4 in Haymarket. Yorktown defeated Battlefield by an 18-6 score during the regular season. Battlefield has finished second in the state tournament the past two seasons.
The Robinson Rams (18-3) and Cosby Titans (14-3) will meet in the other June 4 semifinal. Robinson defeated Yorktown, 8-7, in an early regular-season match.