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Dale's return sparks Hawks: Senior scores two in 4-0 win
Yes, Emily Dale returned to the Highland girls soccer lineup for the season opener.
No, the nets were not smaller than when she left.
Dale scored twice in a 4-0 win over visiting Fredericksburg Academy on Wednesday, her first regular season appearance since contracting mono midway through Highland’s 2007 state championship year.
But her first 30 minutes back proved an irritating stretch. The senior had an abundance of early scoring chances but all were in vain as she repeatedly fired shots over and around the Fredericksburg net.
The worst instance came just before halftime. Dale received a pass 10 yards from goal with no defender in sight. Her try, though, sailed high as Dale let out a frustrated groan and teammate Chelsea Patry supportively called out with a huge smile on her face: 'I love you, Emily Dale!’
“I was just having a bad day today,” Dale said later. “I think it’s going to take a few more games for me to get back into it.”
While Dale searched for her range, freshman Caitlin Howard found the elusive net. Howard scored six minutes into her first varsity game thanks to a clever feed from junior Sallie Griffin.
The two hooked up again just moments later, with Howard making Highland's lead 2-0 halfway through the first period.
“I was excited,” Howard said. “I wasn’t really expecting to score that much, just because I’m a freshman.”
Dale then capped the scoring with her two well-deserved goals — one late in the first half and one early in the second.
Other than trouble finding the net, two-time defending state champion Highland showed no signs of rust.
The Hawks were one of the last local prep teams from any sport to play a regular season game after weather wiped out their first two scheduled contests. The postponements did nothing to slow Highland, though. The Hawks dominated Fredericksburg Academy from the opening whistle.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Highland coach Dave Deisterhoft said. “But I’m very, very pleased with the way the girls played.”
The casual victory allowed Deisterhoft to ease his new goalkeepers into action. Freshman Emily Cummins started for the Hawks and classmate Cassie Jones replaced her at halftime. Jones faced Fredericksburg Academy’s lone shot on net, a harmless dribbler from 20 yards.
With that duo, Highland will attempt to replace Courtney Brewer. Now playing basketball at Lynchburg College, Brewer was in net for both the 2007 and 2008 state title wins, holding a shutout in last season’s contest.
“Nobody’s as good as Courtney, I don’t think, it’s too bad she’s not playing college soccer,” Deisterhoft said. “Both [Cummins and Jones] are really good goalies, I think they’re going to do the job.”
Jones actually came up to varsity as an eighth grader, joining the Hawks for the 2008 playoff run. Even with that in mind, Deisterhoft is unsure who will be his No. 1 keeper. But that is a dilemma that he can live with.
“It’s hard to decide which one to start,” he said. “It’s almost that you have to flip a coin because they’re both good.”
They will both have to be excellent, at least down the road. Highland chose to move up to the Virginia Independent Schools’ first division this season after winning back-to-back Division II championships.
The D-II competition promises to be stiffer.
“It’s part of my job, as a coach, to challenge these girls as much as possible and the way to challenge them this year is by playing Division I,” Deisterhoft said, "It’s player development; if you want to be a better player, you’ve got to play against better players.”
Highland’s opponents, then, should benefit from playing the Hawks. Deisterhoft’s group once again contains a cornucopia of talent.
Dale, a University of Richmond signee, leads the way up front. She is joined at forward by Griffin and Howard, with the speedy Patry creating from the midfield.
The backline should be sturdy as well. Seniors Jess Pierson and Anna Hudson return, with lanky junior Sarah Mello alongside.
That core faces the task of filling in for graduated stars Rachael Spencer and Callan Elswick — the latter a highly skilled player now competing for Davidson College.
“We have a young team and we lost three of our key players,” Dale said, referencing Brewer, Spencer and Elswick. “I think that we just need to practice and get to know each other more.”
Deisterhoft concurred that, in time, this Highland team could be dangerous — even at the Division I level.
“I think we have a great shot at winning it,” Deisterhoft said. “I’ve watched those [Division I] schools play, and they’re good schools, but I think we can hang with them.”
At this point, it is simply a matter of patience.
After Wednesday, Dale should know all about that.
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