Field Hockey: Oakton Records First District Loss

It really did take a tornado warning/torrential rain storm for Oakton Cougars field hockey team to record their first district loss last night to Chantilly — sort of. 

The game was stopped due to lightning a few minutes into the second half and was never able to restart to complete the full game time.

Before that, Chantilly started the game by driving hard to the net. A series of multiple corners called for Chantilly had Oakton furiously defending, but Jackie Rupp, Danielle Somadelis, Alex Revel and Michelle Doran successfully rejected all of Chantilly's attempts. 

However, Chantilly's forward Becca Teti managed to snap in a goal against Oakton by the 20-minute mark putting them up 1-0 against the Cougars.

The remainder of the first half was spirited back-and-forth play despite the torrential rain, with Oakton's midfielders Adelle Clinton, Lauren Johnson, Colleen Gleason, Maggie Toye and Annalise Capalbo holding tight.

As the half wound down, forwards Kara Leonard just missed scoring on a hard line drive, and Melissa Shebat was threatening to score as well. When lightning started early in the second half, the referees held the teams for more than an hour to no avail. The game was finally called and the first half score stands in Chantilly's favor.

This sets the Cougars up for an important game — their fourth game this week — against Herndon tonight, with an Oakton win potentially setting up a three-way tie for the lead in Concorde District seeding.

— Terri Gleason, OHS Field Hockey Booster Rep