Girls soccer: Cox wins Eastern Region title

NORFOLK

In the first 15 minutes of Friday’s Eastern Region girls soccer final at Powhatan Field, it was easy to pick out the freshest team.

It already was leading 2-0.

Cox took advantage of Kempsville’s sore legs and tired lungs, building the early lead and cruising to a 3-0 victory for the Falcons’ fourth consecutive region title.

“They did seem pretty tired,” said Cox midfielder Jessie Klamut, who scored the second goal and assisted on the third. “But we didn’t want to take anything for granted, so we came out and attacked.”

Kempsville battled Hickory two nights earlier in the semifinals, finally winning a 4-3 penalty corner kicks duel after scoreless regulation and extended play.

“We played a lot of minutes this week,” Kempsville coach Lauren Tucei said.

Cox (19-1-2) hosts a Group AAA quarterfinal Tuesday at Powhatan Field against the loser of Friday’s Northwest Region final between Riverbend and Forest Park. Kempsville (12-5-2) travels to take on the winner.

The Falcons jumped on Kempsville in the 10th minute when Chloe Russell took a short feed from Charley Martin and ripped a shot past Katie Lape. The goal signaled the start of a long night for Lape, who finished with 12 saves – many of them spectacular and most either leaping or diving.

About four minutes later, Klamut pounced on a loose ball left in front of the Chiefs’ cage after a shot by Martin had been saved.

“We started off really strong,” Klamut said. “We just wanted to win this game. We wanted to stay at home and not travel. We wanted the trophy and the momentum going into next week.”

The Falcons lost a little of their momentum at the start of the second half, letting the Chiefs launch their only four shots of the game. Only two forced Cox keeper Rachel King into action.

“I told them at halftime that this was where the heart kicks in,” Tucei said. “They responded well. We had some pretty good opportunities that we just didn’t take care of.”

Cox regained control when Klamut sent a nice pass into the middle for Emory Camper with about six minutes to play.

“This was a huge victory for us,” said Cox coach Michele Clark, whose team finished with a 21-4 advantage in shots.

“This (artificial grass) surface really favors our style of play and we were able to hold possession well.”

Lee Tolliver, (757) 222-5844, lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com

Eastern Region final

Cox 3, Kempsville 0

G—Russell, Klamut, Camper.