Chantilly Keeps Pace With Madison In Warhawks' Close Regional Win

It started out in typical Madison fashion. Alex Condon won the opening draw and Katherine Hahne drove half the field before firing the ball in the net. Thirty-four seconds had elapsed, and the Madison High School Warhawks were on the board. Allison Hahn added three more goals in as may minutes, and a blowout was in the making as Madison built an early 5-0 lead in its Northern Region semifinal match up with Chantilly. The game’s ending, however, was much more fitting for the stage it was on.

Fast forward to a second half tied 14-14, when Hahn scores her fifth goal of the night with 3:04 remaining to give the Warhawks their first lead in eight minutes. It was the last goal they would need, as Taylor Rivera-Silva made a stop with 1:45 left, and Madison was able to run out the clock on a 15-14 win that sends the Warhawks to their first ever regional championship game and automatically qualifies them for the state tournament next week.

“I’ve been in this position before, and it really sucks to lose, so it feels good to get a chance to win our first regional title,” said Hahn, the Northern Region Player of the Year. “This was our first close game, so now we know that we can pull together.”

Hahn added four assists, giving her points on nine of Madison’s 15 goals, but none were as important as the final two. Trailing 13-12, the senior found Julia Kehoe alone in front of the net, only to see her shot stonewalled by Chantilly’s Lizzie Graviano. After the Warhawks picked up the loose ball on the rebound, Hahn made the same pass from X, this time to Melissa Kellan, for the tying goal.

“This is the year that she’s finally getting the recognition she’s deserved, in my opinion, for a while now,” Madison head coach Amanda Counts said of Hahn. “There’s a lot of young girls out here looking for someone to show them the ropes of this level of lacrosse, and she’s an even keel player.”

Chantilly’s Christina Gonzalez briefly gave the Chargers the lead again before Kellan answered, and then Hahn, who had hit the post on two consecutive shots a few minutes earlier, drew a foul and netted the game winner on a shot from the free position.

“I thought that I was going to hit the top pipe since I had hit the two side ones,” Hahn said. “I was just happy to put the ball in the back of the net.”

The undefeated Warhawks will take on Oakton, 13-9 winners over Langley in the first semifinal, on Thursday for the Northern Region championship and a top seed in the state tournament. The Chargers, meanwhile, proved that they belong in the discussion of best team in the region and state and became the first team since Oakton on April 27 to avoid a double digit loss to the Warhawks, and just the second team all season. Chantilly will take on the Saxons in the consolation game with the third and final spot in the state tournament on the line.

“For us to come back from a five goal deficit was awesome,” Chantilly head coach Tina Plaugher said. “We are definitely just as good as Madison and I’m very impressed with the way the girls played. With that being said, we can’t take anybody for granted. Every school is talented, and we just have to refocus and go for the next game.”

Kylie Chaplin scored seven goals for Chantilly, and Kacey Norwood added four goals and three assists to help lead the rally. Chaplin’s fifth goal came with 15 seconds left in the first half and drew the Chargers within two goals for the third time of the game at 10-8. That first half shootout gave way to a struggle between the two Northern Region First-Team goalies. Graviano finished with eight saves and Rivera-Silva stopped six shots on the night.

Chaplin drew Chantilly within one for the first time since the opening goal of the game on a shot from free position with 11:33 remaining. Norwood tied the game at 12-12 19 seconds later before giving the Chargers their first lead at the 9:22 mark.

The win also creates one of the most anticipated match ups in the regionAmanda began her coaching career as an assistant on Jean’s staff at Oakton for two years before taking over the top job at Madison in 2007.

“We are not head-to-head competitive with each other, but it’s no secret that no matter who I’m playing, I’m going to come out with the attitude that I’m going to win,” Amanda Counts said. “There will probably be a lot of similarities between what the teams do, but it’s never gotten to be a personal conflict between the two of us.”