HENRICO — The VHSL class 5 girls soccer state championship between Kellam and First Colonial was a battle of defensive wills. So it only made sense the two best teams in the state were tied 0-0 after regulation and four overtime periods.
After defense had been at the forefront of the game all afternoon, it was up to the teams’ offenses to deliver a state title. The game’s storybook ending came in penalty kicks when Kellam senior Ava Chuderewicz knocked in the winning goal, giving the Knights a 4-2 victory in PKs.
Simply put, you just had to be there.
“I was super-nervous, but I was also very confident,” Chuderewicz said. “I know I’ve practiced this PK a lot and I just knew to call my nerves and just take my best shot. … I tried to clear my head as much as possible. I have my strategy, I just think, just use it and just want to make my team proud.”
FINAL | Kellam outlasts First Colonial in PKs to win the Class 5 VHSL girls soccer state championship. @757teamz pic.twitter.com/MhSAqJrEdg
— Michael Sauls (@mcsauls) June 8, 2024
Kellam’s win Saturday gave the Knights their first state championship since 2005. The Knights have had great teams in the past few years but hadn’t quite been able to finish the job, with losses in the state title game in 2022 and 2017. But 2024 will now be known as the year they finally got over the hump.
“Just kind of a sigh of relief,” Kellam coach Mario Hurdle said of the win. “I’m happy for them. This group has been here four years, but even before that, the groups that we were so close. It was always like, losing 1-0, going to penalty kicks. We have a great program with some great alumni. This is a culmination of all this work from the past four years, eight years, going through COVID with a group that didn’t get a chance to play their senior year. The seniors this year, they were freshmen and it was a shortened season. We were always close. So I’m proud of them.”
The old adage in sports is that “defense wins championships.” That was certainly the case for Kellam’s defense Saturday, but it’s not something out of the ordinary for the Knights. Kellam allowed just four goals this season, albeit all of them to First Colonial in their previous two matchups.
Kellam senior goalkeeper Anna Wise played a key role in keeping the Patriots’ attack under wraps. First Colonial, led by twins Sydney and Skylar Miller, had several opportunities late to score, but Wise was always there to keep a lid on the goal.
“We knew that the Millers were gonna come out strong and that we needed to be hard on defense, and we did exactly that,” Wise said. “We didn’t give them opportunities. We held our own all the way till the end. I knew I had to make that save, and we did it and now we’re winning.”
Hurdle said Wise and the Kellam back line were “unbelievable” on Saturday, holding a high-powered and talented First Colonial offense scoreless after it had totaled 105 goals this year.
“Anna Wise made some unbelievable saves in the a little stretch where we were on our heels. … First Colonial is a good team and they have some quality players that are difference-makers, but we have some good players, great players. But I think the major difference is it’s a collective group that’s been together for a long time and and they have fun together, and that’s huge.”
Kellam ended its season 19-1-1, and the Knights had one extra passenger on their bus ride home to Virginia Beach: a state championship trophy.
“It’s so special, our team hasn’t won in 19 years and we’re bringing it home,” Wise said. “We’re making history for Kellam and it’s so exciting.”
Michael Sauls, (757) 803-5774, michael.sauls@virginiamedia.com
