Lady Highlanders Cruise To State Quarterfinal Victory Over Grassfield

The McLean Highlanders (15-4-2) showed no residual effects of last week’s Northern Region final loss to Woodson High School.

McLean easily defeated Chesapeake’s Grassfield High School, 5-2, in Tuesday's Virginia High School League (VHSL) quarterfinals, which was held in Norfolk, Va.

“I told the girls to get it (the Woodson loss) out of their system. I said that if there ever was a time to lose, it was then,” said first-year head coach Robert Bouchard via phone.

The Highlanders heeded Bouchard’s advice.

Fatigue from McLean’s six-hour bus ride to the Hampton Roads region was minimal as the Highlanders darted out to a 2-0 halftime lead.  

“I told the team that we needed to jump on them (Grassfield) right from the beginning. We needed to act fast so that they didn’t have time to adjust,” Bouchard said.

“I knew that if we got up on them quickly, they’d have a hard time coming back against a team like ours.”

Unlike district play where schools face each other several times during the season, scouting reports on Grassfield were minimal, which forced McLean to play aggressive early and often.

As a result of Bouchard’s fast-paced, aggressive strategy, McLean never trailed at any point in the contest.

Melissa Downey and Katie Yensen each scored two goals, while Brianna Nielsen contributed with one.

2011 Spring First Team All-Met player, Andie Romness, led the Highlanders in assists with two.

With the victory over Grassfield, McLean advances to the state semifinals where they face a Battlefield team which currently owns a 15-game win streak.

“I think that it is going to be a dogfight. We both have good teams. It will probably be a low-scoring game and the team that digs the hardest is going to win. They’re a good team and we want to be ready for them,” said Bouchard.

McLean faces Battlefield at 1 p.m. on Friday at Westfield High School in Chantilly.