Charlottesville holds on in final

With a long ball sailing toward her, Ellie Von Storch had to summon up one last bit of energy.  Her Charlottesville teammates had spent the past several minutes fighting off several Fluvanna County chances to protect a one-goal lead.

One last effort was all it took. Von Storch outfought Fluvanna defender Cameron Zullo, took a dribble and slid the ball past goalkeeper Emily Brown for the goal that sewed up the Black Knights’ 3-1 victory in the Jefferson District final on Thursday.

“It just put a cap onto the game,” Von Storch said. “Two-one is too close.”

Playing with renewed energy after Katrina Dittal’s second-half goal, the Flying Flucos (15-2-2) were the team that appeared more likely to add another tally. Their fan base thought they had in the 75th minute when Megan Seelye’s free kick sailed just over the crossbar.

That wouldn’t be the last chance for Fluvanna — all-district forward Sunny Herold had an open shot in the box near the end but couldn’t beat CHS goalkeeper Clay Eure.

“A goal gives you momentum,” said Charlottesville coach Fernando Opere. “They got the goal and I was scared for a moment. It was fantastic that we pulled ahead and managed to score the third goal.”

Charlottesville (14-1-1) broke through in the 30th minute after district player of the year Monica Matsumoto earned a corner. Ellen Buckley’s kick found Von Storch at the far post, and the sophomore headed the ball past Fluvanna keeper Emily Brown.

Olivia Levine added to the Black Knights’ lead five minutes later, taking an Emily Balcke throw-in in space and banging in a shot off the far post.

Fluvanna struck back in the 64th minute when Eure could only parry a shot from Herold. Dittal capitalized on the rebound to give the Flucos a chance to tie, but they were unable to find the equalizer.

“We just didn’t come out and play the way we play usually,” said Fluvanna coach Tara Garcia. “For some reason, our possession wasn’t there this evening, and if it was, we’re a different team than the way we came tonight.”

The Flucos had several other chances in the second half, most notably when Herold got past Eure, only to be dispossessed by Charlottesville defender Gardner Allen.

“In 85-degree [weather], it’s normal that there are a few minutes when you’re going to be down a little bit,” Opere said. “The important thing is to go over these moments and continue, and we managed to do it.”

Both teams advance to the Region II quarterfinals and will play home games on Monday at 6 p.m. Charlottesville hosts Sherando, while Fluvanna plays host to Heritage-Lynchburg.