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FIELD HOCKEY Jackets, Hornets reach semis
Group AA/A state field hockey
Date published: 11/12/2008
BY JUSTIN RICE VIRGINIA BEACH-- Grafton senior Lindsay Leonard carried the ball through the James Monroe defense and set her eyes on Yellow Jackets goalie Sarah Fisher and the cage she protected.Leonard faked right, went left, but Fisher dove for the Clipper's stick and swatted the ball away. It was the first of a series of second-half punches James Monroe turned away to secure a Group AA/A field hockey state tournament semifinal berth. The Yellow Jackets scored two first-half goals and dodged Grafton's second-half rally for a 2-1 win in yesterday's quarterfinals at the USA Field Hockey National Training Center. James Monroe will face Western Albemarle at 3 p.m. Friday in the semifinals. Orange was a 2-0 winner against Northampton in yesterday's other quarterfinal. The Hornets play Region I champion Tabb at 1 p.m. in Friday's other semifinal. James Monroe led Grafton 2-0 at halftime, but the Jackets were saying all the right things. "It's a 0-0 game," James Monroe senior Phoebe Willis reminder her teammates. The Jackets didn't want to get comfortable. The Clippers wouldn't let them. Passes and long hits that had slipped by the Clippers in the first half were suddenly turned back on James Monroe, and the Jackets were in a fight. Grafton didn't have a corner or a shot on goal in the first half, but the Clippers out-cornered JM 7-0 and outshot the Jackets 10-2 after the break. It started with Leonard's breakaway that Fisher cleared. "I knew my defender would cover backside of the post, but no one was out there to cover the ball," Fisher said. "That's when you go out after it and you hope you can get it." Fisher was tested on five corners over a five-minute stretch. The best chance resulted in a penalty stroke for Grafton with 11:15 remaining, which Sarah Wister converted to draw the Clippers to within one. "That was a nice stroke," Fisher said. "I didn't have a chance. No chance at all. The way she flicked the ball, it sort of was to the left, and then back to the right." Finally, with seven minutes remaining, Willis made a deft move and split the Grafton defense. Though Willis' attack didn't result in a goal, the Jackets were able to maintain possession on the Clippers' half of the field most of the game's final minutes.
Date published: 11/12/2008
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