Chesapeake Girls Rally For 2-2 Tie Vs. South River

A 2-2 tie in early September isn’t exactly a make-or-break outcome, but for the Chesapeake girls soccer team, its September 11 matchup with South River was a result to be proud of.

The Cougars rallied from 2-1 down in the second half to equalize on Brooke Hurst’s second goal of the game before battling the host Seahawks through the remainder of regulation and two overtime periods to come away with the draw.

Chesapeake goalie Sarah Cuttler made 15 saves in the tie.

“We knew it was going to be a challenging game going in,” said Hurst. “Our first goal came from an amazing buildup in the midfield that we were able to slot through the back line. For our second goal, the team executed the press that we’ve been practicing, and I followed through on the opportunity to beat the goalie to a ball…South River definitely gave us a good run. I feel like coming from behind gave us really good momentum going forward this year.”

In the past 10 years, South River has been on of the state’s premier programs, and the Seahawks have had Chesapeake’s number. Chesapeake’s last non-loss to South River prior to this September came in 2008, when the teams tied 2-2. From 2009 to 2018, the Seahawks outscored the Cougars 29-5 in head-to-head matchups, going 10-0 in that span with six shutouts.

But the times are changing. The Cougars played the Seahawks tight in a 1-0 loss in 2017 and did the same in a 2-1 defeat in 2018. This year, a breakthrough came, and the Cougars forced a 2-2 draw.

Hurst hinted that the result might be a bellwether of continued success for the Cougars, who have made back-to-back appearances in the region final and are hoping that 2019 leads to the breakthrough into the state tournament.

“I’m extremely proud of this group to get this result against such a talented South River squad because we’ve been putting in the work at practice and we can finally see some of the payout from our effort,” said Hurst. “I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the rest of our season.”

Photos courtesy of Jaimie Hurst Photography