It's deja vu all over again for the Brentsville District girls soccer team.

Just like in 2008, the Tigers plowed through their competition in the regular season to win the Northwestern District title and earn a bye in the first round of regions.

And just like last year, the Tigers were upset in the district tournament finale and the semi-finals of regions.

At home. In Nokesville.

"The cards haven't fallen our way," said Brentsville coach Sean Weddel.

Heritage put an to the Tigers chance for redemption Wednesday, May 27 with a 1-0 win that clinched a berth to states for the Pride and allotted the girls a spot in the Group AA Region II championship.

Sophomore Alex Mosley, a fresh recruit up from the junior varsity team, scored the game winning goal with 28:05 left on the clock in the first half on a rebound shot she managed to sneak by Brentsville goalie Erica Propps.

"They had speed," said Brentsville defensive mid-fielder Madison Smith, though she added that the Tigers were actually faster.

Fellow freshman Bridget Bergquist explained that Brentsville's offensive strategy was to draw the defenders toward them so they could eventually create a gap and split it.

Propps did what she could to keep the Pride at bay after the lone goal, shutting them out particularly well in the second half.

The problem for Brentsville turned out to be an inability to square up and shoot deep inside Heritage territory as goalie Erika Deckard and the Pride defense held their own against the likes of Brentsville's all-time leading scorer Ashley Grant.

"We didn't mark up as well as we should," said Weddel

On a corner kick with 9:56 remaining before the half, Deckard lept at the ball launched by freshman Kelsey Reighard that was sailing over her head. She slapped it to the ground, the ball bounced once and Deckard wrapped her paws on it tight enough to prevent and of the Tiger attacks from stealing a shot right in front of the net.

Clearly faced with a formidable opponent in goal, Brentsville stepped up its offensive game immediately in the second half, forcing a shot on goal in the first minute that Deckard scooped up.

But no matter what Brentsville did, they just could not catch a break. Whenever Grant gained control of the ball on a fast-break and faced down only the Heritage defense, the Tiger fans would scream with anticipation, hoping for anything to happen offensively.

Grant split two defenders after a pass by senior defensive captain Kelsi Whalen with less than 12 minutes remaining. She worked the ball deep into the goal box and tangled herself up with Deckard near the net.

The junior keeper kept showing her resilience though and, once the ball went loose, she roped it in.

About three minutes later, on another corner kick, the ball bounced off a head near the goal, allowing Deckard to run to her right, lean over and scoop up another would-be shot.

According to Bergquist, Heritage played "tight" defensively.

"They came out strong," she said, adding that they "marked up very well."

The game marked Heritage's second 1-0 win of the region tournament as the Pride topped Fluvanna County on the road by the same score two days earlier. The shutout marked Deckard's sixth of the season.