State field hockey tournament: Cox and First Colonial reach Class 5 state championship game

Class 5

First Colonial 5, Stafford 2

All season long, Finley Payne has been an offensive machine, putting up more than 50 goals to lead the Hampton Roads area in scoring.

When it was time to set the tone in Friday’s state semifinal against Stafford, she delivered again.

Payne found the back of the net on a hard shot that deflected into the left corner of the net as First Colonial jumped on Stafford early on the way to a 5-2 victory on Spotsylvania High’s field.

“It’s really a team effort,” Payne said after the game. “All of my goals have not been alone, it’s been with my team.”

Saturday, First Colonial will face Cox at 2 p.m. at Courtland High for the championship.

The Patriots, who last appeared in the state tournament in 2018, when they fell to Cox in double overtime in the final, are a young team. Just one player, Emily Tammaro, had played on the state level prior to the quarterfinal Tuesday.

“The other (players) have never been in a high-pressure game like this, and I think that they handled it very well,” FC coach Beanie Schleicher said. “They knew because of the history of First Colonial and the culture that we’ve built, they had a lot of pressure even at the beginning of the season.”

The Patriots scored two goals in the first five minutes to put the stunned Indians on their heels. Stafford (22-1), which came into the matchup undefeated, regrouped, closing the deficit to 2-1 and then to 3-2 after First Colonial scored again.

In the first half, Claire Hitchings and Jolie Day also scored for the Patriots, who led 3-2 after two quarters, while Olivia Stocks and Mattie Furrow had the goals for the Indians.

Coming out of the halftime break, the Patriots were dominant again as Tammaro, the team’s lone senior, scored on a stroke. Landry Meyer put up the fifth goal for First Colonial, which matched in one game the total of goals allowed by Stafford in its previous 22 matchups.

Despite the Indians’ stalwart defense throughout the season, the Patriots “felt very confident coming in in our attack,” Schleicher said. “We watched some game film on them and thought we would be able to score a lot.”

Heading into Saturday’s state championship game, the Patriots are motivated, not just for this year but for years to come.

“For my freshman and sophomore year, we didn’t make it (to the state tournament), so I think it’s special to us that we made it here with such a young team, having only one senior,” Payne said. “It sets us up next year to have this experience (again) and know what it’s like.”

Cox 2, Independence 0

It’s official: Cox and First Colonial will be facing off once again with state glory on the line.

Sophia Burch and Megan Spear both scored as the Falcons (19-0) advanced to their fourth straight championship game.

The Falcons have faced First Colonial twice already this season, beating them 2-0 in their regular-season matchup and 3-0 in the Class 5 Region A title game.

Against Independence, a Northern Virginia team, Cox took the lead just minutes into the opening quarter as Burch, a sophomore, found the back of the net.

“We have a thing about coming out (strong) in the first two minutes, so that was our goal and we did it and we executed well,” Burch said.

Coming into the matchup, both Cox and Independence had given up just three goals apiece all season. Falcons goaltender Abby Spear finished with a handful of big saves, including back-to-back stops on an Independence corner midway through the second quarter with Cox still leading 1-0.

“We were definitely expecting a good game. They’re obviously a great team because they’re here at states,” Cox coach Taylor Rountree said.

Throughout the game, the Tigers struggled to move the ball against Cox’s defense in the midfield, and their chances came few and far between. By contrast, Cox dominated possession and had plenty of scoring chances, though the scoreboard didn’t show it.

After heading into halftime with a 1-0 lead, the Falcons struck again early in the third quarter as Megan Spear lofted a shot over the defense and into the back of the net.

With Cox and First Colonial approaching Round 3, Rountree is excited to prove once again on the state championship stage that Virginia Beach field hockey stands alone at the top.

“We’re definitely playing a different game now in a different arena on a different surface, but the positive is that this hopefully shows the state that the Beach is the best.”

Class 6

Western Branch 2, Fairfax 0

Western Branch had tasted defeat on this stage before. In 2019, the Bruins fell in the semifinals, just short of making the team’s first state championship-game appearance.

When the Bruins received another opportunity to get to the title game, they didn’t let it go to waste.

Addison Bosco and Josi John both scored second-half goals to give Western Branch (18-3) a win Friday on Spotsylvania’s field. The Bruins will play Yorktown, of Northern Virginia, at 4 p.m. Saturday at Courtland High in the final.

“It means so much,” Western Branch coach Erica Rimasse said. “These girls are so pumped up right now. We can’t even believe how far (we’ve come). They’ve worked so hard all season and we’ve had some ups and downs, but we’re really in it to win it now.”

Fairfax (24-1) had come into the matchup undefeated. For much of the contest, the two teams remained deadlocked, with both defenses holding firm.

Midway through the third, the Bruins finally broke through as Bosco found the back of the net on a penalty corner. Late in the fourth, John helped seal it for Western Branch with another goal.

Heading into the title game, Rimasse knows that for her players to reach even greater heights, they’ll need to step it up even further.

“We’re looking for everyone to give it their all, 110 percent,” she said. “No walking whatsoever, just playing both sides of the ball, offense and defense, and smart decisions.”

Yorktown 7, Grassfield 1

A dream season came to a close for Grassfield as the Grizzlies fell to Yorktown.

Kyleigh Kearney, who led the team in scoring with 32 goals this season, netted Grassfield’s lone goal, a game-tying shot midway through the second quarter, but the Northern Virginians pulled away with four goals in the second half.

“I don’t want to say (this season has been) unexpected because we always have high expectations, but it’s been a pleasant surprise,” Grassfield coach Kevin Ellis said. “We didn’t start out playing the toughest games but we were doing well, and then towards the end, we started to get more competition and didn’t get a few results. But in the end, the region tournament came together and we played well and obviously played well the other night at Colgan, so overall, it’s a good season.”

Emily Stafford led Yorktown (21-1) with a pair of goals, and Olivia Stafford, Olivia Morgan, Caroline Brickley, Olivia Nelson and Sydney Polly also scored.

Grassfield (14-4) made its first appearance in a state semifinal, an achievement Ellis hopes will serve as an inspiration for the Grizzlies’ future teams.

“We just kept telling the girls as we got closer and closer to these games, ‘Just keep setting the bar as high as you can for future generations because there’s only one first,’” Ellis said. “Right now, they’re the first team to make it to the semis. The only thing somebody can do now is get to the finals.”

Class 4

Courtland 5, Jamestown 0

Courtland scored three second-half goals to pull away from a 2-0 lead at the break, ending the Eagles’ season. Jamestown was in its first state tournament since 2008.

Great Bridge 1, Chancellor 0

Aubrey Steckline’s goal gave Great Bridge a 1-0 halftime lead, and the Wildcats held on. They will face homestanding Courtland at noon Saturday for the title.

Steckline scored on an offensive corner off an assist from Greyson Curth with 13 seconds left in the first quarter, and goalie Payton Belby came up with five saves to earn the shutout.

Class 3

Tabb 5, Monticello 0

The Tigers scored three second-half goals on Massaponax’s field to secure their spot in Saturday’s championship game.

Poquoson 3, James Monroe 1

The Islanders defeated their rivals from Fredericksburg at Massaponax High. JM’s Yellow Jackets defeated the Islanders in the 2018 and ‘19 state championship games.

Poquoson advanced to the final at 10 a.m. Saturday at Courtland High against Tabb (21-0), ensuring that the state crown will return to the Bay Rivers District.

Poquoson defeated Tabb 2-1 in April in what is officially considered the 2020 state championship game — the fall season was postponed because of COVID-19. But Tabb has won both meetings in the fall by 3-2 scores, once in the regular season and the other for the Region A championship.

Avery Jackson scored in the first quarter for Poquoson, but James Monroe retaliated with a goal and the score was tied at 1 at halftime. Goals by Emily Swartzbaugh in the third quarter and Sydney Baggett in the fourth gave the Islanders their margin of victory.

“I’m super-excited and very proud of the girls for winning and getting another opportunity,” Poquoson coach Darcey Chiappazzi said of advancing to the state final. “I hope we can come through with another one.”