Mustangs blank Black Knights

The Monticello field hockey team spends a minimum of a half hour on short corners every practice.

For the first 30 minutes of game time Thursday night, the Mustangs probably wished they were at practice; they had earned four short corners, with no goals to show for it.

After being held scoreless through the first 47:16 of game time, however, Monticello converted goals on short corners No. 6, 7 and 9 to defeat Charlottesville 3-0 at home.

“I think that during [halftime], the girls made the decision that they needed to rally and start scoring,” Monticello coach Katie Owens said. “They caught fire.”

Through the first half and the midpoint of the second half, underdog Charlottesville (2-3) hung tough with Monticello (4-1). Even as the Mustangs outnumbered the Black Knights 5-1 as the game remained scoreless, both teams had put up five shots, with Charlottesville even winning the shots-on-goal battle 3-2.

A smartly placed finish from just outside the 16 by Brittany Haun, however, broke the game open. Though she bobbled the insert from Sarah Mitchell on Monticello’s sixth short corner of the game, Haun gathered the ball and rifled a low shot from the right side The shot zipped through traffic in front of the goal and froze Charlottesville goalie Sam Miller, landing just inside the back post to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.

“You’re expecting that it would deflect off and go somewhere else,” said Charlottesville coach Katie Haskins. “But she scoop-shotted it into the corner of the goal.”

For Haun, it was her second straight game that she has found the boards.

“When you have that many shots, you just have to put it in,” Haun said.

From there, a domino effect ensued. On the Mustangs’ next short corner three minutes later, Haun received another insert from Mitchell at a similar spot; this time, though, Haun’s delivery was redirected by Arianna Slate standing off the back post, and she delivered the ball to the center of the boards for a 2-0 lead for Monticello.

At that point, Haskins said, the Black Knights were deflated. On short corner number eight, Mitchell herself finished, again off her insert. A shot ended up on her stick in front, and she found the back post to give the Mustangs a 3-0 lead with six minutes left on the clock.

“As soon as the girls got that taste, they got going, and they got that momentum,” Owens said. “I do wish we could score earlier and continue to score consistently throughout the game, but we’re getting there.”

Haskins, though, was extremely pleased with how her team played prior to Monticello’s scoring barrage, particularly in the first half. The Mustangs found hardly any clean looks at goal in the opening period — just two of their shots made it to the end line without being blocked.

Owens, though, was not quite as pleased with her team’s first-half output. Charlottesville even had the better part of the first six minutes of action, and, going into halftime with a 0-0 tie, looked up to the task of upsetting the Mustangs on their home field.

“The message [at halftime] was to minimize mental errors, and to improve your teamwork, and communication on the field,” Owens said. “They did.”

The three short-corner goals, indeed, had Owens proud of her team at game’s end, and she said it gives Monticello something to build on.

“We have shown improvement in our scoring on corners in the last few games,” Owens said. “I’m really proud of their efforts tonight.”