They starred on 11 high school soccer teams on the Peninsula. Together, they won Virginia Legacy Soccer Club’s first national title.
Michael Hackworth had the humility to admit teammate Tre Barrett would be the better choice to take the penalty kick that kept Virginia Legacy Soccer Club’s hopes of a first national championship alive.
“I’d have regretted it the rest of my life if I’d have missed it and cost us the national title,” said Hackworth, whose goal clinched Tabb High’s state championship win in June.
He was right, as Barrett, from Kecoughtan High, calmly made the penalty to tie the Under-17 championship game at 3-3 with Ironbound of New Jersey in Denver last week in stoppage time. Hackworth would prove fearless seconds later with the national title on the line.
He ran onto a ball at the near post on a corner kick from Caleb Lewis, a rising senior at Grafton, and headed it into net at the far post. Moments later, the final whistle blew and the U-17 team’s 4-3 victory gave the Virginia Legacy its first national title at any level in its 46-year history.
But not before Hackworth did his best Cristiano Ronaldo imitation. He celebrated the winning goal by running toward his teammates, spinning his index finger, jumping into the air while doing a 180, then landing as he chopped his hands emphatically.
It’s called the “Siuuu!” celebration for the word that translates to “Yes” in Ronaldo’s Portuguese. For Hackworth and Legacy coach Bobby O’Brien, the dramatic final goal could have as easily translated into “What?”
“It was the kind of moment you look at and go `Did that really just happen?’” said O’Brien, after his team rallied for the two quick goals to come from behind in those 3 minutes of stoppage time.
Hackworth said, “At first, I really had no reaction. I felt my heart drop when (Ironbound) scored to take the lead (at 3-2 with 3 minutes left in regular time) because I thought this might be another championship where we wouldn’t close the deal.”
In fact, the same group lost a penalty kicks shootout in the U-16 national semifinals only a year earlier. But they had knocked on the door so many times at the highest levels of state and national play, they were ready to close the deal this time.
“This group went deep so many times at regional and national championships since they were 11, they were clearly special and had the ability to accomplish something special,” O’Brien said.
Remarkably, the 18 players who meshed to win the national crown represent 11 Peninsula-area high schools: Bruton, Grafton, Kecoughtan, Lafayette, Jamestown, Menchville, Peninsula Catholic, Tabb, Smithfield, Warwick and Warhill. Despite that, O’Brien says they are a close-knit group.
“They all love soccer, so they all love practice and they love practicing together,” O’Brien said. “But they are all extremely competitive.
“They’ll fight each other in drills, then give each other high-fives and make plans on what to do outside of practice.”
O’Brien is hard-pressed to identify stars. Hackworth led the way with six goals in the five games, scoring two, like Barrett, in the final. Austin Robertson (Tabb), who drew the late penalty that Barrett converted, and JaMarhe Willis (Warwick) supplemented them in attack, while Davian Jackson (Menchville) and Colin Skwirut (Kecoughtan) stood out defensively.
O’Brien said that several of key players on the U-17 national champs played for second-tier Legacy teams prior to the last year or two. Their development is a selling point that should bolster a club that has grown to 600 travel players and 180 in pre-travel, in addition to the 1,800 in its recreation program.
“Hopefully that shows hard work will ultimately pay off if parents trust people to put them in the right situations,” O’Brien said, adding that the national title also proves Virginia Legacy can provide high-level development on the Peninsula without players having to “chase” it to Richmond, Virginia Beach or Northern Virginia.
Hackworth said, “I think this shows Legacy is a great club. The younger players looked at us as the greatest Legacy team ever, but we didn’t feel we could be called that without winning a big championship.
“To get a national championship close to the end of our years together is incredible.”
