Fresh off winning the Northwestern District championship last week, the Meridian High School field hockey team welcomed the Blue Devils of Culpeper County to town on Wednesday night to begin the regional playoffs. Meridian earned the top seed in the bracket by virtue of its 15-2-1 record, but Culpeper was not going to be a pushover.
That was proven quickly when the game got underway, as neither team initially seemed to have the edge. The Mustangs settled in and began to control possession in the second period after a scoreless first quarter, but despite having some high-quality chances – including one right at the end of the half – they were not able to get anything past Culpeper’s goaltender Shelby Whorton. Culpeper came out of the break buzzing with some of its best opportunities of the night, but it was now Baelyn Reinfurt’s job to be a stone wall in net as she kept the game scoreless. Meridian quickly regained the edge after the brief scare and spent most of the fourth quarter in control, and yet still, the Mustangs just couldn’t find the lucky bounce they needed. The game went into golden goal, seven-on-seven overtime, with more open field and immediate victory for whoever scored first, and alas, it was Culpeper only 43 seconds in.
Suffice to say, it was a solemn scene postgame. The Falls Church crowd was stunned silent and the girls sat quietly in a circle while coaches Anne Steenhoek and Melissa Raeder encouraged them to keep their heads up, the gravity setting in that their season was over. Ultimately, it’s a disappointing way for it to end, but when evaluating the Mustangs’ efforts on the whole, there is nothing to be ashamed of.
“This game does not define our season,” said Steenhoek. Indeed, the fact remains that this is a team that went 15-3-1 and won the District title. One untimely loss because of one unfortunate bounce of the ball cannot take away the hard work and dedication these girls put in all year long, while even more importantly, it cannot take away the special bonds they built together as a team.
