First Colonial claims state field hockey title

VIRGINIA BEACH

Welcome to the club.

First Colonial on Saturday joined an elite group of Beach District field hockey programs that have dominated the competition for years, winning the school’s first Group AAA state title with a 4-1 victory over Stafford at the National Training Center.

The Beach has won 25 titles since the tournament started in 1977 – with Cox leading the field with 17. Kempsville has four and Princess Anne three.

Now the Patriots have theirs.

First Colonial (23-1) was making its second appearance in the state final. The Patriots lost to Cox 3-1 in 1992.

“I don’t even know what to say or feel right now,” said Kelly Chesson, who scored one goal and had an assist. “It’s just crazy right now.”

The victory came in the second state final for coach Beanie Schleicher, who finished second to Cox in 2006 as the coach for Maury.

“Finally got one,” Schleicher said. “I’m pumped.

“These girls made this a goal after the region semifinal loss to Lakeland last year and it’s all they’ve talked about since. It’s awesome that they got here.”

First Colonial advanced through the state tournament’s first two games with dominating performances, but had to settle for two one-goal victories.

Saturday against Stafford (21-4), it was a different story. This time the dominance paid off with a lopsided victory. The Patriots outshot the Indians 20-1 and had an 11-1 advantage in penalty corners.

Speed was the difference.

“I thought we were a little bit faster than them,” said Brooke Hiltz, who joined her two older sisters as a state championship winner. “We’ve worked so hard and we didn’t stop until we reached our No. 1 goal. “This is an amazing, awesome feeling.”

First Colonial pounced early, getting a goal from Isabelle Smith on a feed from Chesson two minutes into play.

The Patriots doubled their advantage 10 minutes into the second half when Katelyn Adkins fed Spencer Tossone.

The Indians got their only chance a minute later, and made it count when Erin Gallivan charged across the mouth of the goal and beat Patriots keeper Katie Jones.

Chesson ended any hope of a comeback with 6:33 to play when she sprinted into the circle and faked out Stafford keeper Brooke Scruggs, who was rushing out to challenge. Chesson simply pushed the ball into the open goal as Scruggs hit the deck.

Scruggs challenged Adkins in the same situation a minute later, but missed the ball when she tried to kick it out of harm’s way.

“I felt like we were faster and in better shape and it showed at the end,” Adkins said. “We’ve worked so hard for this all season.”

Now they are a member of the club.