Finally, an assistant coach suggested another idea.
“Everyone stand back-to-back!” she said, delighting her players.
So every player picked another and stood back-to-back, the physical embodiment of what the Saxons had just achieved. Saturday’s road victory not only completed the end of a season that was both perfect and strange, but it also announced the Northern Virginia school as a dynasty in the sport, winner of the past two titles.
“We worked too hard this season to not come and just leave it all out here,” senior goalkeeper Faith Ann Finch said. “We came here and just said: ‘This is our last time on the field together. This is going to be our day.’ ”
The Saxons (16-0) last posed for these types of pictures more than two years ago in the spring of 2019. When the 2020 season was scuttled by the coronavirus pandemic, their sights shifted.
“We decided we were going to keep going,” Morris said. “It was going to be full throttle again. And once we got the green light to start practicing again, this whole team was just on it. We picked up right where we left off.”
In the fall, as the only team activities allowed were distanced workouts, Saturday’s stage was the ultimate motivation. The Saxons were focused on making it here, on winning this game.
They did both in style, going undefeated with most games won by double-digit goals and then handling Colonial Forge with confidence Saturday.
Especially early, the Saxons struggled to consistently gain possession off the draw. But they made up for it with strong defense anchored by Finch and a surgical efficiency on the offensive end. For the Eagles and their fans, it quickly became a terrifying sight to see a Saxons midfielder sprinting down the field, a defensive stop behind her and all the possibilities of an offensive attack ahead.
Langley never trailed, leading by five at halftime and then taking complete control early in the second half. They outscored the Eagles 8-2 in the second 25-minute period. Junior attacker Julia Daly led the team with seven goals, two of which came in the first 90 seconds and set the tone for the Saxons.
“We’ve talked about today a lot,” senior midfielder Erika Chung said. “We were close with the class above us, and last year we probably also would have had a shot at a championship. Just to win this today, after missing a year, it’s to honor them.”
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