Giving a halftime speech is a fine art. Getting your team to respond is an entirely different matter altogether.

Western Albemarle’s Aaron Myers was exhausted, but with two minutes left in a fourth overtime, the sophomore mustered one more run, flying towards Fluvanna County’s goal.

Many people in the sports world will say that it’s not about how you start a game, it’s how you finish. But the Covenant girls soccer team would beg to differ.

Charlottesville and Western Albemarle battled it out for the regular-season Jefferson District title on Thursday, and the Black Knights came through in a must-win situation to secure a first-round bye in the district tournament with a 1-0 win.

By all accounts, Thursday’s matchup between Western Albemarle and Fluvanna County, two Jefferson District teams featuring solid defenses, should have been a low-scoring affair.

Every minute of a soccer game matters, but none quite so much as the last two. In a match between two evenly-balanced girls soccer teams, Western Albemarle and Fluvanna County played each other to a 1-1 tie.

On Tuesday, the Patriots kept themselves in the race, handling district opponent Brooke Point, 5-1.

In sports, when the stakes are high, the team that has an edge will often prevail. Well, on Thursday night, Round 1 of the Jefferson District’s boys soccer showdown went to Orange County’s boys soccer team.

The two teams battled to a scoreless tie until just under the 10-minute mark, when Charlottesville freshman Sarah Robinson found the back of the middle of the net from about 25 yards out to give the Black Knights a 1-0 lead they would not relinquish.

The Black Knights and Warriors played to a 1-1 tie at Western after a Charlottesville goal in the closing minutes of regulation evened the score. Neither team could break through for a game-winner in overtime.

Rittenhouse’s squad finally got back on the field Thursday night, and play they did. On the road against Jefferson District rival Monticello, the Warriors’ offense poured it on in a 7-1 romp.

The Mustangs trailed Charlottesville by three goals fifteen minutes in, but managed to storm back to come away with a 3-3 tie.