VIRGINIA BEACH — There were many tears but no regrets after Tabb’s field hockey team saw its season end with a 4-1 loss against Chancellor in the 4A state semifinals Friday morning at the National Training Center in Virginia Beach.
A rematch of last year’s thrilling Group AA state final that Chancellor won 2-1 in overtime to deny Tabb a fifth-consecutive state championship, the Tigers were simply outplayed, but not outhustled, by a more experienced Chargers team that returned all but one starter from last season.
Tabb replaced seven starters – all of whom are currently playing in college – this season and impressed everyone, including coach Wendy Wilson, by weaving its way through the competitive Bay Rivers District and newly structured conference and region tournaments to return to the state Final Four for the sixth year in a row.
So much for a rebuilding year.
“The first thing I told the girls [after the game] was that this one game does not define your season,” Wilson said. “Chancellor is a great team, they beat us last year and only lost one senior; they should be going to the finals. We had to overcome so much just to get here, I couldn’t be more proud as a coach.”
Wilson praised her team for not ever losing focus or lacking effort even after Chancellor took a 3-0 lead early in the second half.
Led by Courtney King, Tabb’s defense held its own during the first 30 minutes turning away several threatening scoring chances from Chancellor, but the Chargers’ crisp ball off set pieces burned the Tigers on more than one occasion.
The first came six minutes in after Katherine Hull collected the entrance pass on the right side of the circle and slotted a pass across goal to Chloe Hernandez who then smacked the ball past Tabb keeper Kelsie Ames to give Chancellor an early 1-0 lead.
The Chargers went up 2-0 after Chelsea Galera deflected Fernandez’s laser shot into the back of the cage with seven minutes to play in the first half, but the Tigers didn’t break down.
Tabb countered with immediate pressure as Progar maneuvered her way into the circle to earn the Tigers’ first penalty corner, but Chancellor’s defense quickly closed on the ball quickly and cleared it away to thwart the threat and secure a 2-0 halftime lead.
Kara Enoch, Lauren Mitcham and Progar helped Tabb gain the early momentum to begin the second half with relentless pressure into Chancellor’s final quarter of the field, but the Tigers attack struggled to penetrate much deeper than the outskirts of the circle.
“Chancellor has a great defense,” Wilson said. “They run a bowl defense and were adamant about not letting us in the circle. No one had done that to us this season so it was hard to adjust to with our inexperience, but we kept fighting. They could have rolled over and they didn’t.”
Even after the duo of Hull and Fernandez connected for the second time off a corner to give Chancellor a 3-0 lead with 10 minutes left in regulation, the Tigers didn’t quit.
Instead, junior Maddie Vann put Tabb on the scoreboard two-and-a-half minutes later after striking home a rebound that bounced oFf Chancellor’s keeper with 7:27 left in regulation.
Chancellor scored once more in during the final five minutes on a nifty chip shot from the right side by Galera.
While admitting that advancing to a sixth-consecutive state final would have been nice, Tabb’s three senior captains — Progar, Mitcham and Lorissa Morton — each said they ended their careers with no regrets.
“Chancellor is a really good team and we gave it all we had, so we walked off the field with no regrets,” Progar said. “I’m really proud of our team considering we lost so many players [from last year]. it was just awesome that we got to come back.”
“No one expected us to be back,” added Mitcham, “but it was our goal from day one and we did it as a family with a lot of heart.”
Morton said returning to states was all the more gratifying because of how rough things started back in August.
“There is one practice that will forever be in my mind,” Morton said. “Coach pulled us aside and said, ‘I’m having nightmares about how you guys are practicing. Get your stuff together.’ And ever since then we turned it around, pulled together and decided that everything we lost in experience we were going to make up with togetherness.”
Wilson also remembers that practice like it was yesterday.
“We always refer to that practice,” Wilson said. “When you have a group that won four titles and came up one overtime short of five titles, there’s a different level of intensity at practice, so to have a whole new group coming up from JV, the adjustment process was frustrating. But instead of saying, ‘oh we’re not supposed to be good’ and just accepting it, the girls pushed through and became one of the top four teams in the state. It’s incredible to be a part of something like that.”
4A State Semifinals
Chancellor 4 Tabb 1
Goals: Chancellor- Fernandez (2), Galera (2). Tabb- Vann.
Assists: Chancellor- Hull (2), Fernandez
