By Angela Watts
Newport News, VA -- The midfield celebrations with hundreds of jubilant Thomas Jefferson and Lake Braddock fans at Christopher Newport University Saturday included hugs and high-fives and water-baths for their respective coaches. They were similar expressions of joy, but there was a markedly different feel to Saturday's two Virginia Group AAA soccer championships.
Jefferson, whose science and technology-based students are known more for their academic success than their athletic prowess, started the day with a dramatic, 1-0 victory over previously unbeaten Osbourn Park to claim the Virginia Group AAA boys' soccer championship--the first team title in school history.
"We're the first ones that'll have a banner in the gym," senior midfielder James Ramadan said. "We can come back in 20 years and know that was us. We earned that. It's a great stepping stone for our school, not just for soccer but for all sports. We know we can do it now. We were an underdog all season. All we heard that was TJ was going to choke. But that just fed our motivation.
"This is something we'll remember forever."
Lake Braddock's girls' team made a different kind of history, winning their second consecutive state title with a 2-1 overtime victory over Frank W. Cox. It was the fifth overall title for the Bruins, tying them with West Springfield for the most championships won in the event's 23-year history.
"This is just awesome," said Lake Braddock senior forward Lauren Fleming, who scored the game-winner in the 81st minute. "This was our goal from the beginning of the year. It's almost an expectation for us. So when it went into overtime I was frustrated and a little nervous ... but now all I feel is excitement. Two years in a row is very sweet."
But getting to the post-game celebration wasn't an easy task for the Colonials (17-1-5) or the Bruins (17-3-2).
Jefferson had one early goal nullified by a penalty, and found itself
in a physically demanding defensive struggle with Osbourn Park. There
were five yellow cards assessed, one head-to-head collision between
Colonials' junior Will Beckman and Yellow Jackets' senior Owen Thomas
that caused Thomas to black out briefly and only nine combined shots on
goal.
But Jefferson senior Harry Beddo curled in the game's lone goal from
about 18 yards out in the 50th minute, booting it so hard from the left
side of the goal toward the far post that his protective shin guard
came flying out from beneath his sock in the process. It marked Beddo's seventh goal in the
past five playoff games.
"I just found a rhythm and have been able to put it in the back of the net," Beddo said.
|  | A dejected Osbourn Park player walks to his team's bench as Jefferson wildly celebrates its first Virginia Group AAA state championship with its fans.
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"It's been a dream season. When it started the truth is I don't think even we though we'd able to do this. We were just hoping to win districts. Then we won regionals ... and everything started to go our way."
Osbourn Park (21-1-2) attempted a furious rally with two corner kicks in the last two minutes of play and a free kick from the top of the box with less than 40 seconds remaining, but all were handled by the Jefferson defense.
"I didn't like how we ended it, but I can't argue with the results," said Jefferson Coach Sean Burke, who led the W.T. Woodson girls to a state title in 2004 and said he duplicated everything, including staying at the same team hotel, in hopes of a repeat. "This is like insane."
Lake Braddock found itself in an even tighter battle, locked in a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation with a Cox team it defeated 3-0 in last year's championship game. But it was not for lack of trying. The Bruins recorded 20 shots compared to seven for the Falcons, but were continually denied by Cox's 6-foot standout junior goalkeeper Kristin Carden, who has already committed to Virginia Tech.
But senior All-Met Katherine Weiler finally broke through in the 45th minute, connecting from about 35 yards out on a ball that sailed past Carden's outstretched arms and found the back right corner of the net. Weiler, who will play next year for Pittsburgh, had rested the entire first half because of a pulled quadriceps that has kept her sideline for most of the past five games.
"It was the state final so I got a little crazy; I really wanted to play," Weiler said. "Finally [Coach Liz Pike] put me in and I knew that no matter what position I was in I was going to shoot."
But Cox answered immediately, matching Lake Braddock's score just 74 seconds later on a goal by senior Finley Hines.
"Last year we weren't even close, we didn't compete with them," Carden said. "We got burned. I got burned. But then this year I felt like we had it. Once we scored on them I thought it was ours. And that makes this loss so much harder to swallow. I was told they had 20 shots, so I know I made a difference at least. But it's horrible to lose it in the end like this."
The Bruins' game-winning goal wasn't a hard, high-flying shot like they had attempted to force past Carden so many times before. Instead, Weiler was working close to the net when she heard Fleming call for the ball, and a quick slip pass back to Fleming fooled Carden, allowing Fleming to punch the ball in low.
"Cox has an amazing keeper and I think she kept them in it," Pike said. "We had some great shots and she made some amazing saves for them. It was my plan to shoot [a lot]. The only way to get a strong keeper flustered is to just have shots coming--right, left--whether they get on goal or not. And the girls kept on pounding at the goal. I thought we did a great job."
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