By Joe Gleason

It’s a genuine underdog story: Meadow View, a school that doesn’t have a home field to call its own, the smallest school competing in division two of Virginia’s athletic association for independent schools, advances to the championship game of the girls state soccer tournament. The contest played out in Richmond, VA, on May 15, and the determined Meadow View team captured second place in the state in a hard-fought 2-1 game, concluding their season.

The high-quality play came as no surprise to Mr. Will Taylor, Meadow View faculty member and coach of these varsity athletes. “Without a doubt, this is the best girls’ athletic team the school has had, and perhaps the best athletic team we’ve ever had, period. The girls were in a good position to dominate this season.”

And dominate they did. In a remarkable 12-0 run, the team scored 68 goals while allowing only 5 goals by opponents. They were also the first Meadow View girls’ team to compete for a state soccer championship.

All three cocaptains, senior Dorothy Earner, senior Brigid Hasson (nicknamed “Slidetackle Girl” by opposing teams) and junior Anne Ryland, were chosen for the all-state first team. Senior Rebecca Lee, who scored the team’s only goal in the championship game, was selected for the all-state second team, and sophomore Molly Earner made the all-conference team.

Brigid pointed to the quarterfinal game of the tournament in describing one of many highlights of the season. Cocaptain Dorothy Earner simply “took over the field” and scored four goals. “You can score a hat trick if you’re lucky,” says Brigid, referring to a player scoring three goals in a single game, “but you have to be really lucky to score a Dorothy.”

With only five seniors leaving, the young team has high hopes for the future of Meadow View girls’ soccer: “This is definitely not a one-time thing,” says Brigid. ”I want to see the girls below me win the state title.”

They just might.