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Kimener wills Oakton to region title
For those not fortunate enough to observe the Oakton girls lacrosse team on a daily basis, senior midfielder Ashley Kimener's nine-goal effort in the Cougars' 14-12 win over Chantilly Wednesday night in the Northern Region tournament final might've come as a sweet surprise.
But for those who've been lucky enough to watch Kimener develop over the past four years, the James Madison-bound scorer's swan song -- at least in the Northern Region final, as Oakton will advance to the Virginia AAA state playoffs to defend last year's state title -- didn't even surprise the team's veteran coach.
“I see her do this every day,” said Oakton coach Jean Counts, whose team improved to 9-5. “I'm so grateful that other people can see that, and it's not just the fact that we see her every day.”
Kimener, who was tabbed as a first team All-District selection, recorded her first hat trick in the 25-minute opening half, but it was her three-goal spurt early in the second that rescued her team from the bowels of defeat.
Oakton hadn't had its typical success against Chantilly this season. After dropping a 9-8 decision in the final game of the regular season and falling, 8-7, in the semifinals of the Concorde District tournament -- both times when Kimener and Co. had the ball in the final seconds with a chance to score -- Oakton knew that a strong second half was imperative.
With Chantilly still clutching a 7-4 halftime advantage, Kimener drove to the front of the net with 22 minutes, 43 seconds remaining in the game. Kimener deposited her fourth goal with relative ease, before adding her fifth and sixth tallies in the blink of an eye to knot the score at seven with 22:01 to play.
Another hat trick, 42 seconds.
“My coach told me to not get frustrated with myself because in the first half I just kept shooting and I kept hitting the goalie, or I'd miss wide,” said Kimener. “She kept telling me to keep my head up and keep going to the goal ... 'Do what you do.'”
Oakton sophomore Jackie Alexander followed with her first and only goal at 20:51, but Chantilly junior Brittany Griel -- the Northern Region's Midfield Player of the Year -- scored 30 seconds later to tie the game at eight.
Almost on cue, Kimener fought through two and then three defenders, registering goal No. 7 -- the eventual game winner -- at 18:24. Chantilly continued to concoct defenses designed to stop Oakton's ace, but Kimener's offensive talents proved to be too much.
“It's Oakton. You can never underestimate Oakton,” said Chantilly coach Michele Gates, whose team dropped to 15-2 but will join Oakton in the state tournament, which begins on May 31. “[Oakton] is a second-half team anyways, but we just couldn't stop Kimener tonight.”
Chantilly's Liz Dunwoody (3 goals) and Katie Stillwell (3 goals) each scored down the stretch, and when Griel (4 goals) cut the deficit to one by swooping in from the left and depositing a shot, it appeared that the Chargers might still have a chance.
Then Kimener felt it appropriate to bookend the game's scoring, finishing her third hat trick at the two-minute mark to seal the win and secure her team's second consecutive Northern Region title.
“She's the best overall lacrosse player that I've had at Oakton High School,” Counts said. “And for her to have a game like this ... it's been a long time coming for her to allow herself to take control like that. She's too much of a giver. She passes too much.”
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