Madison Girls Soccer Stays Alive in Playoffs

In the first round of Virginia Northern Region play Tuesday night, the Madison Warhawks were matched against top-ranked Chantilly High School.

The Chargers were the early favorite: Chantilly went 13-1-1 in regular season and defeated Westfield and Robinson last week to add a Concord District title to its list of accomplishments. And going into this first round of regional play, ESPN High School Sports had ranked Chantilly No. 11 in the country.

But Tuesday evening was Madison's night: Under a steady rain, with loyal fans watching from the stands, the Warhawks beat Chantilly with a late goal, ending the game 2-1 to advance to the second round of regional play.

Chantilly opened the scoring in the first half of the game after a corner kick and a loose ball in front of the goal. But the Warhawk defense never let up, shutting down Chantilly's high-scoring offense. Madison’s keeper, Sophomore Lexi Graham, had an excellent game, stopping multiple shots from a Chantilly offense that would not be deterred.

In the second half, Madison came out ready to win. Their tough and determined play created a corner kick and a flurry of activity in front of Chantilly’s goal. It  lead to a pass from Phoebe Natale to Susie Carter who finished it, tying the game up at 1-1. As the rain kept pounding, so did the Warhawk team.

With 45 seconds left in the game, Murphy Massey sent a ball up to Kaitlyn Dorka who shot from just outside the left side of the box into the upper corner of the goal to end the game at 2-1.

Madison now advances to round two of regional play to be held at 7 p.m.
Thursday, likely against Lee High School.

Nick Dorka contributed reporting to this story.