Wilson Memorial, Riverheads girls soccer and Buffalo Gap softball all winners in states
FISHERSVILLE — Wilson Memorial's unbeaten season continues with a 2-0 win over Magna Vista in the Class 3 girls soccer state quarterfinals Tuesday night.
The Hornets advance to the state semifinals for what is believed to be just the second time in program history. The Hornets are coming off the program's first regional title in school history, beating Charlottesville last week for the Region 3C championship to earn a home game Tuesday.
Senior Carley Piller had mixed emotions after the match. It was her final game after four years on the Wilson Memorial pitch. Friday's state semifinal match will be played at Riverbend High School in Fredericksburg.
"It's a little sad, I'm not going to lie," Piller said. "Knowing this was my last game on this field, it's emotional. But it's exciting knowing we're going on."
Wilson will play defending Class 3 state champion Lafayette at 9 a.m. Friday. This was a change from the original time of 11 a.m. due to Lafayette's graduation schedule.
Following close miss after close miss by Wilson in the second half, Piller is the one who broke through Tuesday with the game's first goal with just 5:50 left in the match.
"I was a little nervous," Piller said. "I looked up and there was like seven minutes left and that's not always a great feeling with it's 0-0 on the scoreboard."
Then, just 1:08 after Piller's goal junior Adelie Condra put the ball into the back of the net for a two-goal lead with 4:42 showing on the clock. That's how the game ended.
"That seems to happen with us a lot," Piller said. "One goal gives us some excitement and usually it leads to more."
Coach Kyle Congleton wasn't happy with the first half play by his team, saying the Hornets were flat. He moved Piller out of the backline and shifted some other players over. That helped Wilson generate more scoring opportunities in the second half.
"You take a little bit of risk," Congleton said. "Pushing Carley up gave us those extra opportunities."
Wilson improved to 17-0-3 on the season with the win.
Bison rally late for win
WARSAW — Buffalo Gap used a four-run rally in the top of the seventh inning to beat Rappahannock 7-4 on the road in the Class 1 state softball quarterfinals Tuesday.
"These girls have fought through adversity in many games," Gap coach Holly Desper said. "I couldn't be happier or prouder of their performance tonight. Top to bottom they each contributed something to the win."
The Bison trailed 4-3 heading to the final inning, but Rappahannock's pitcher walked the bases loaded. A fielding error by the pitcher led to two runs and a Gap lead, before the Bison added two more runs for the comfortable cushion heading to the bottom of the seventh.
Rappahannock got a runner on but couldn't do anything else in falling to the Bison.
Caroline Alger got the pitching win, striking out seven and walking no one. Madeline Miller had two RBIs in the win, while Bailey Talley, Jasmine Harris and Hannah Coffman all knocked in a run each. Talley, Alger, Coffman and Miller all had two hits for Gap.
Buffalo Gap will play Auburn Friday, 1 p.m. in the state semifinals at the Botetourt Complex in Troutville.
Riverheads hosts three state quarterfinals
The Riverheads girls soccer team beat Westmoreland 5-0 Tuesday in the Class 1 state quarterfinals. The Gladiators will play Auburn at 9 a.m. in Salem Friday in the semifinals.
The news wasn't as good for the other two Riverheads teams playing in state quarterfinals Tuesday. Boys soccer lost to Westmorland 4-0, while baseball fell to Middlesex 3-1, ending the season for both.
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— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Wilson, Riverheads girls soccer and Buffalo Gap softball all winners in states
