Field hockey: Sydney Keating’s deft shot sends Fairfax into Virginia 6A North region semifinals
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Version 0 of 1. At practice earlier this month, Fairfax midfielder Sydney Keating found herself with some free time after her group finished a drill. She noticed an open goal nearby and decided to work on her penalty stroke. The next 20 minutes were spent alone in front of the goal as she honed her most ambitious stroke, a swift scoop shot into the cage’s top left corner. “I was like, ‘That would be a pretty cool stroke to score on,’ ” Keating said. It would be pretty cool indeed to score with that stroke in any scenario, but it would be downright bodacious to convert it in a do-or-die situation with her team’s season on the line. Yet that’s exactly what transpired during the Rebels’ 6A North region quarterfinal against Herndon Thursday night. Two weeks after that fateful practice, Keating lined up a decisive penalty stroke and froze the goalie with a rising flick that struck the back of the cage with a resounding clang, like a loud bell heralding the home team’s 3-2 victory. “I was really proud of myself because that was probably the best stroke I’ve ever taken,” said Keating, who also converted the two penalty strokes she took during the regular season. “It made me really happy that it was the game-winning one.” [Top 10 field hockey rankings] Keating’s shot wasn’t just courageous for its audacious style. After playing to a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation, Fairfax and Herndon (14-6) battled through two scoreless sudden-victory overtime periods before engaging in a one-on-one shootout. The two sides had one shootout goal apiece when Keating charged forward on the Rebels’ fourth attempt, which ended with the sophomore midfielder writhing in agony after colliding with Herndon goalie Jessica Corum. Fairfax junior Emily Deivert, the Rebels’ leading scorer, endured a similar collision on the fifth attempt, but this time referees whistled Corum for a penalty. Wiping her tears aside, Keating returned to convert the ensuing stroke, and Fairfax goalie Alexis Thomasson kick saved Herndon’s final attempt to send the Rebels (15-4-1) to a semifinal date against T.C. Williams on Tuesday. Thursday’s marathon quarterfinal served as a character test for a young group that lost 14 seniors from last year’s squad, which won Fairfax’s first region title since 1993. High expectations weighed heavily on the Rebels earlier this season, but they managed to gut out a seventh consecutive conference crown and have a chance to get back to the state tournament with a win on Tuesday. “They felt a little more of that pressure in the beginning of the season,” said Fairfax Coach Amber Beaudoin, who happens to be Keating’s aunt. “Now they’re starting to become themselves.” Facing its toughest test of the season to date, T.C. Williams held off Robinson 2-1 Thursday night to secure its 16th straight victory and advance to Tuesday’s region semifinal against Fairfax. The Titans (20-1) got first-half goals from Sophie Johnson and Mimi Hyre and used nine saves from goalie Sarah Leckman to keep the Rams at bay. . . . Westfield stayed hot with a 17th consecutive win in its region quarterfinal Thursday night, but not before receiving a stern test from a plucky Madison side that lost to the Bulldogs 3-0 earlier in the year. The visiting Warhawks played Westfield to a scoreless draw in the first half, then converted off a scuffle in front of the cage five minutes into the second half to go up 1-0. [Previewing the Maryland state field hockey tournament] The Bulldogs (18-2) picked up their intensity from there, locking up on defense and getting a pair of goals from sophomore midfielder Mackenzie Karl, who leads the team with 15 goals on the season. “It was crunch time, and they dug down deep and went after the ball together as a team,” Westfield Coach Starr Karl said. “It wasn’t like one or two people; it was everybody, it was a unit. That’s what I was most proud of.” Westfield advances to Tuesday’s regional semifinals to host W.T. Woodson (11-8), which beat Centreville 1-0 on Thursday. . . . The eight-team 5A North region tournament begins Monday. Marshall earned a top seed after defeating Jefferson 3-2 in Tuesday’s Conference 13 final. The Statesmen will host Massaponax Monday while Jefferson will host Atlee. Edison hits the road to face Mountain View. |