Quick Start Propels Hanover

Scott Shope scored an improbable goal that stunned Deep Run.

It�??s safe to say that Scott Shope has, if not the, one of the strongest legs in the Central Region.

Shope
stunned Deep Run with a free boot from midfield that nestled in the top
of the right side of the goal and ended up being the game-winner in the
Hawks�?? 2-1 victory over the Wildcats in the region semifinals at Cosby
Thursday evening.

�??I
was looking for that back corner to try to play it off of somebody�??s
head,�?� said Shope, also the kicker and a standout safety for the Hawks�??
football team. Shope is going to Randolph-Macon to play safety. �??When I
put it back there I saw it going towards the goal and I thought it was
going over. But as soon as it dipped down everybody started cheering. I
was like, �??Hey, it went in.�?? �?�

The Hawks (17-3) pounced on the Wildcats (13-7-1) early. Josh Wilson found the net just five minutes into the match and Shope followed about 15 minutes later.

Before Deep Run could break a sweat, there were playing with a two-goal deficit against a strong defensive unit.

�??That�??s what we wanted to do,�?� Hanover�??s Curt VanBrackle said. �??We knew if we got up on them they were going to get down.�?�

Said Deep Run coach Steve Chapman:
�??The second [goal] was more disheartening because of the type of goal.
It happened right in front of me. That shouldn�??t happen.�?�

Deep Run stayed aggressive and got fouled in the box with 8:00 left in the half. Defender Brandon Gary took advantage of his limelight beating Alex Moore to the left back corner to slice the advantage to 2-1.

But
Hanover�??s defense took care of things the rest of the way, though the
Wildcats peppered Moore and his tough defense near the end but Deep Run
couldn�??t force OT.

�??Defense has been our strong point for the year,�?� said Hanover coach Joe Broscious,
the region coach of the year as he looks ahead to the region final
Friday versus Cosby. �??Both teams are going to play very technical.
Everybody�??s going to be fighting for everything.�?�

Cosby Ends Thomas Dale’s Streak

Brand
new Cosby ended Thomas Dale�??s three-year, 67-game win streak, defeating
the Knights 2-0 in Thursday�??s Central Region semifinal at Cosby. The
Titans will face Hanover in the final.

Bryan Hughes (right) struggled to find his footing here, but a little later he scored the game clincher in Cosby’s upset.

It�??s over.

Brand
new Cosby ended Thomas Dale�??s three-year, 67-game win streak, defeating
the Knights 2-0 in Thursday�??s Central Region semifinal at Cosby. The
Titans will face Hanover in the final.

Both teams have earned a trip to the state Group AAA tournament that begins Tuesday.

�??I�??d like it to have gone on another game or two,�?� Thomas Dale coach Mark Fowler said. �??Yeah, we�??re disappointed. But it�??s a lot more people in worse situations than we�??re in.�?�

The contest was a defensive gem for both teams until Cosby�??s Nick DeProspero found himself wide open to the left of the goal, one-on-one with Dale freshman keeper William Groben.

The
sophomore forward beat Groben, ricocheting the ball off the right post
and bouncing the leather into the net sending the Cosby faithful into a
frenzy.

�??Ben
Jessee worked his way through and just found me wide open,�?� DeProspero
said. �??I saw a little opening between two defenders. The back post just
opened up wide open for me. I guess that�??s a forward thing. Find a
little spot and you have to stick it in there.�?�

Said Titans coach Mike Anderson:
�??I was already celebrating [when the ball hit the post]. If it would
have come back out I don�??t think I would have been able to finish the
game.�?�

Cosby�??s Bryan Hughes was able to finish it five minutes later.

Freshman midfielder Adam Nelson
found him in front and Hughes did what he does best for a 2-0
advantage. TD put up a valiant effort in trying to tally a goal, but
Cosby (14-5-1) stayed aggressive and kept the terrific trio of Dustin Heling, Patrick Innes and Will Bates off the scoreboard.

�??They�??re
fantastic champions,�?� Anderson said of Thomas Dale (19-1), who won the
previous two state crowns. �??To start the game, to be honest, we were
just happy to be here.�?�

And
even happier to be the first team in school history to reach the state
tournament. The Titans could be back next season with no seniors on the
squad.

�??This
is huge for Cosby because it�??s a brand new school,�?� Hughes said.
�??Nobody expected us to make it; even fourth place in the district. Then
we make it into the region. Beat Thomas Dale, give them their first
loss in a long time, and then make it to states.

�??It�??s landmark right now for Cosby.�?�

Modesty Gets Lumpkin’s Eagles Somewhere

Mills Godwin takes home a 1-0 victory over James River in the Central Region semifinals at Cosby

Kelsey Billups, trapped here, will make her fourth straight state tournament appearance.

Anne Lumpkin�??s
modest. Her stop-and-pop goal to lift Mills Godwin to a 1-0 victory
over James River in the Central Region semifinals at Cosby Wednesday
evening was a thing of beauty.

But let her tell it �?�

�??The field was fast,�?� said Lumpkin, �??so it helped it roll in.�?�

Whatever the reason, the sophomore�??s goal off a feed from Katie Anderson with about six minutes to go stood for the whole match as Godwin�??s defense, led by Central Region player of the year Lindsey Rowe (goalkeeper), kept James River�??s (13-4-2) opportunities to a minimum.

No
breakaways, few shots, fewer corners, ballgame to Mills Godwin
(15-1-1), a date with Atlee Friday in the region championship and a
ticket to the Group AAA state tournament, Godwin�??s fifth straight
appearance.

What was that? Did someone just say dynasty?

�??We have been blessed with consistent years of talented soccer players,�?� Eagles coach Rob White said. �??That�??s really the only way to string together years like that.�?�

One of those talented players is Godwin�??s Kelsey Billups (Virginia Tech signee), who joins former four-year starter Marybeth Barhan as the only players to start for four straight state tournament teams.

Rowe
is only a junior, but if you didn�??t have a program you wouldn�??t know.
She barked out commands and put her players in positions to succeed
often, hindering James River attacks.

�??I
definitely trust in my players and I want them to hear my voice so they
can trust in me,�?� Rowe said. �??I want them to know that I�??m back there
for them.�?�

Said White, �??She combines the knowledge of the game and an ability to communicate in a firm but always positive manner.�?�

Atlee’s “Priddy” Good

The
Raiders (16-2-1) defeated Thomas Dale 3-0 Wednesday evening to set up a
rematch with Mills Godwin for the Central Region championship Friday

Libby Snyder

�??Oh so pretty!�?� the Atlee faithful yelled constantly.

The clever onlooker could figure out the rowdy students were giving a nod to terrific defender Dylan Priddy. They also could have been describing the beautiful play of the entire Atlee team.

The
Raiders (16-2-1) defeated Thomas Dale 3-0 Wednesday evening to set up a
rematch with Mills Godwin for the Central Region championship Friday at
5:30 p.m. at Cosby High.

Things were quiet until a corner kick by Jordan Roseboro landed in front of Thomas Dale�??s net. Then Ashley Amos turned up the volume as Dale failed to clear the ball, scoring from point-blank range for a 1-0 advantage.

�??That first goal was key,�?� Atlee coach Bruce Lovelace said. �??[Roseboro] is just a quality player. Technically, she�??s a solid player. She does it all.�?�

About
15 minutes after Roseboro fed Amos for the lead, she scored one of her
own on a breakaway, pitting Atlee to a 2-0 advantage while Thomas Dale
(17-3) looked lethargic.

�??The first 10 minutes it looked like a pretty even game,�?� Dale coach John Kabler
said. �??But the energy level dropped off from there until halftime.
There was a lot of standing around. The corner kick they scored on just
sat in front of the net.�?�

Kristin Lescalleet�??s
second-half corner kick didn�??t. It was placed perfectly as fittingly,
Priddy outjumped everyone for the header to score pass a very capable Chrissy Dowlen (nine saves).

Now the Raiders are set for a rematch with Godwin. The Eagles handled the Raiders 3-0 almost two months ago.

�??Godwin
is the No. 1 team in the region and they deserve it,�?� Lovelace said.
�??We have our hands full. The first game they dominated play. It�??s
little Atlee against big Godwin.�?�

Hanover’s Batty

Hanover toppled Mills Godwin 9-2 in Tuesday�??s Central Region softball quarterfinals

Lauren Brummell kept Mills Godwin off-balance mixing her powerful fastball with a wicked changeup.

Hanover is driving coach Chris Pace batty. In a good way.

His Hawks belted 11 hits, including seven from Courtney Long and Jessie Atkinson,
as Hanover toppled Mills Godwin 9-2 in Tuesday�??s Central Region
softball quarterfinals. Hanover, seeded first, advances to Thursday�??s
semifinal against Midlothian, a 12-1 victor over Hopewell.

Though
Hanover (22-1) has been the top team in the area all season, the Hawks
came out jittery against the flaming Eagles (14-8). A throwing error by
Atkinson at third base allowed terrific Godwin catcher Hannah Mills to reach second.

Leona Rainey sacrificed Mills to third, then Stacy Snellings belted a Lauren Brummell offering to right field to drive in Mills for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

Hanover
struck right back, as Brummell and Long singled. Two batters later, the
red-hot Atkinson put a two-RBI single to right field for a 2-1 lead the
Hawks would not relinquish. The senior third baseman finished 4 for 4
(3 singles, double) on the night.

�??I was just nervous the first inning,�?� Atkinson said. �??Then I got up to bat, got a hit, got the two RBI.�?�

It was just the early part of a Hanover hit parade, as Godwin was stymied by Brummell (nine strikeouts).

Long singled to begin the fifth inning, then advanced to second on Julie Smith�??s groundout. Long, who Pace calls his best athlete, stole third and then scored on Mary Claire Stoneburner�??s wild pitch for a 3-1 Hanover lead.

It was déjà vu for Hanover two batters later, as Atkinson scored from third on another ball that got by Mills for a 4-1 lead.

Godwin clawed back to 4-2 on a deep double by Stoneburner that drove in Jessie Layton.

�??We
gave them a couple early and we got it back to 4-2, then their bats
came alive in the sixth,�?� Godwin coach Walter Pettus said. �??We had
runners in scoring position several times but we could not come up with
the key hit.

�??Brummell pitched a great game. She kept us off-balance in the changeup.�?�

Brummell
stalled the rally and helped start one for Hanover, drawing an
intentional pass to put runners at first and second with one out.

Good strategy (Godwin wanted the double-play ball to end the inning). Bad execution.

Long
drilled an offering to left-center field for a three-run homer that put
Hanover ahead 7-2. Long, who played shortstop, finished 3 for 4. She�??s
played catcher all season after being an all-region centerfielder. Now
Smith has returned to her normal catcher spot after recovering from an
arm injury, so Pace had to move Long once again.

Pace or Long really don�??t care, as long as Long�??s bat is in the lineup.

�??I�??ve
never had a top four like this. It�??s not fair,�?� Pace said. �??We�??re a
great hitting team. I can�??t say enough about No. 4. We�??re the best
hitting team in the region and [Jessie] leads us in RBI.�?�

More Basketball Commitments

Mitchell Makes Decision

Best Shot Is Lescalleet’s Last

Raiders defeat Confederates 1-0

Kristin Lescalleet scored the game’s only goal.

Kristin Lescalleet was having one of those days all great, talented players have every once in a while.

She couldn�??t find the net. Shot after shot narrowly missed or hit the crossbar or was saved beautifully by Lee-Davis�?? Janie Evans.

But
it was nothing Evans could do with about 28 minutes to go in the
Capital District championship, as Lescalleet scored past a diving Evans
on a penalty kick, leading the Raiders to a 1-0 defeat of the
Confederates Thursday afternoon.

Atlee striker Jordan Roseboro
had been getting banged around by Lee-Davis defenders all game, and the
officials caught an L-D infraction to give Atlee a prime scoring
opportunity.

�??At
first when I saw the official make the call, I thought it was outside
the box,�?� said Lescalleet, the district player of the year. �??Usually,
we like for the person that got fouled to finish it. She was just
hurting, so I had to take it for her.

�??I thought it was pretty much an even game. We just got lucky with that one in the box.�?�

No
one could get lucky early, as both teams had few chances to score in
the first half. Finally with under two minutes to go, L-D (12-6)
slipped a shot past Atlee (14-2-1), but it hit the right post and
bounced harmlessly out of the box as the game was scoreless going into
the half.

�??We had our chances in the first half,�?� Confederates coach Brad Dalton said. �??We clocked the one off the post. I just **** that it comes to a penalty kick to be the deciding factor.�?�

But it was because an aggressive Atlee offense didn�??t allow Lee-Davis to establish any kind of offensive flow. Kimmy Cummings, L-D�??s outstanding, potent scorer, had very few looks; not nearly as many as Lescalleet earned.

The Raiders defense, led by back Dylan Priddy did a pretty good job as keeper Hayley Poland came up with the saves when Atlee needed them.

�??The first half we just played too direct,�?� Atlee coach Bruce Lovelace said. �??We tried to have more combination play. Both teams played well. Both teams are dangerous.�?�

Eagles Keep Flying

The
Eagles defeated top-seeded Patrick
Henry 6-2 at RF&P Park for the Colonial District tournament
championship.

Figure ‘8’

Thursday
afternoon, the Eagles claimed their eighth straight Central Region team
tennis crown dispatching of the previously undefeated and top-ranked
Deep Run Wildcats 5-1 at Raintree Swim and Racquet Club.

Central Region Preview Goes To Hanover

Hanover, top-ranked in the DigitalSports Top 10, takes a
3-0 victory over third-ranked Midlothian Wednesday evening in a
five-inning, rain and lightning-shortened contest.