Knights defeat Rapids, advance to semis

Thomas Dale pulled away in the second half to defeat James River 3-1 in the Central Region semifinals yesterday at Cosby.

Just 2½ minutes into the second half, sophomore Hannah Robbins gained a step on Rapids defenders and drove in a goal to put Thomas Dale up 2-1 after an evenly matched first half ended in a tie.

"We've been working on our taking up for ourselves and that's basically what I did," Robbins said. "Coach [Jaeckle] told us how to get around them because they were keeping it low, and I did what she told me."

Katie Crews scored the insurance goal with under 11 minutes to play.

The Knights opened scoring midway through the first half as defender Kelsey Whittleton came up to score. James River responded less than two minutes later as Gina Grimes knocked in the tying goal on an assist from Maddie Evans. Knights freshman keeper Savannah Cummings finished with 14 saves.

This is the first time since 2001 and only the second time ever that James River hasn't advanced to the Group AAA tournament. Thomas Dale and James River had met in the regional finals for the past two years.

"They've made it so it is a rotating -- so that every district really has the opportunity to play in the finals," Rapids coach Slade Gormus said. "My thing is that the region should be represented by the best teams and not just because this person needs an opportunity to do whatever. It's frustrating. But on the flip side of that, if you're going to win states you have to beat everybody there."

Thomas Dale plays Maggie Walker at 3:30 p.m. today at Cosby for the regional title. Maggie Walker defeated Lee-Davis in the early semifinal 4-1.

Deirdre Gill gave Maggie Walker a 2-1 lead with 27:11 to play, and the Dragons never trailed.

Maggie Walker led from two minutes into the first half on a shot from senior Ellen Graham.

"I've actually had problems all year scoring. . . . I just felt so relieved to be able to get ahead," she said.

Lee-Davis senior Jessica Ravensbergen thumped a shot past keeper Virginia Young with time being kept on the field before the half.

"We scored in that first two minutes and then we just played patient and flat. And comfortable," Dragons coach Paige Hawkins said. "Instead of being aggressive. Then they scored in that last 30 seconds before the half and I think it was an eye-opener."

Graham scored her second goal of the evening with 18:04 to play, giving Maggie Walker a two-shot advantage, and senior midfielder Kelsey Huffer added another with 15:23 to play.

Maggie Walker ------------------------- 1 3 -- 4
Lee-Davis ------------------------- 1 0 -- 1

MW -- Graham 2, Gill, Huffer

LD -- Ravensbergen

Saves -- Young (MW) 1, Evans (LD) 12

James River ------------------------- 1 0 -- 1
Thomas Dale ------------------------- 1 2 -- 3

JR -- Grimes

TD -- Whittleton, Robbins, Crews

Saves -- Dailey (JR) 4, Cummings (TD) 14