Black Knights fall in Group AA quarterfinals

SPOTSYLVANIA — Charlottesville’s girls soccer season came to a halt Wednesday night by way of a series of severe thunderstorms that swept across the state.

With the Black Knights trailing 1-0 just two minutes into the second half, a lightning bolt forced the referee to suspend play and send both teams to the locker room. Spectators also filed out of the stadium, and shortly thereafter a tornado warning went into effect and rain started. After a lengthy wait of nearly three hours, the game was called and stood as a Courtland victory, ending Charlottesville’s season.

The Black Knights, who won the Jefferson District title and finished as the Region II runner-up to Broad Run, had several scoring chances in the first half. Charlottesville’s Emily Perrin came close to capitalizing on a couple of long runs, but each time Courtland goalie Karina Monroe came out of the goal to make strong stops.

Only Kara Blosser, Courtland’s leading goal scorer on the season, managed to break through with a tally coming with 23:34 to play in the half. Blosser managed to corral a pass by Lauren McCoy that ricocheted off a Charlottesville defender. Blosser then buried a high shot in the back of the net to give Courtland an advantage that would be enough to advance the Cougars to the state semifinals some three hours later.