When CHS opened in 1975, there were no women’s sports at the school, even with the passing of Title IX in 1972, which states “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” This meant that if there was a boys team, then the school was required to field a girl’s team if requested.

Although there weren’t really any girls high school soccer teams in the area, as they hadn’t been requested, girls still played soccer on co-ed teams for the Soccer Organization Charlottesville Area, or SOCA. However, as girls got older, the levels between boys and girls began to grow apart on physical levels. “From the ages of [around] 10, 11, and 12, the boys all of a sudden got bigger and stronger and faster than the girls. And it was hard for the girls to compete in the coed leagues,” said one of the parents of the first girls soccer team at CHS, Ted White. 

Eventually, three parents, Ted White, Eric Heiner, and Nancy Tartar decided to petition for a girls soccer team to be created at the school. This movement, spearheaded by White, whose daughter Elisabeth White was an avid soccer player, was met with a lack of enthusiasm and support by the Athletic Director at the time, Teddy Theodose. To Theodose, a girls soccer team would just be an extra expense. At the time, CHS didn’t have enough fields to accommodate another team, and new uniforms were needed for the girls team, which would add to the athletics budget. However, because Title IX was in effect, there was nothing he could do, and CHS approved the start of a girls soccer team. In order to get the program quickly off the ground and running, White decided to step up and take the role as head coach. Although he was working as a law professor at the University of Virginia, White had both experience in playing and coaching. His years playing at Amherst College and coaching youth soccer at SOCA prepared him to tackle the job. However, he decided to reach out to the University of Virginia women’s soccer head coach, Lauren Gregg, who gave him advice and offered assistant coaches. Seniors, who were done playing at UVA, would come and help coach during Charlottesville’s spring season.

“[The UVA players] could relate to the players,” said White, who felt that their age and experience were more relevant to the girls he was coaching. Throughout the season, the UVA players helped White organize practice, where they often scrimmaged together in the beginning years. 

Because most of the girls that were interested in playing for the new high school team were in eighth grade, the girls soccer “team” was started as a club in the spring of 1990. The club also couldn’t play local high schools because CHS was one of the first schools in the area to kickstart a girls soccer team. 

“There were about 30 girls who came out for practice. And they were very different levels,” recalls White. “So when we started our practices with 30 girls of different abilities and bad weather, it was just a trying time.”

The following school year (1990-91), White’s daughter, Elisabeth, and her friends were now freshman at CHS. This was the first official year of the team. Because of the limited field space at the school, the team mainly practiced at Buford Middle School and Pen Park.

When it came time to play games, many of the schools in the surrounding area did not have girls soccer teams. In the spring season of 1991, the team played 11 games, but only against five schools. They played North Cross (a prep school in Roanoke) twice, Fauquier twice, Western Albemarle four times, Albemarle twice, and ended the season with one game against the private prep school Collegiate. 

“I remember feeling really nervous on the way to play some of the Fauquier County soccer teams. Back then, they had more well-established girls teams, and everything about the experience of playing up there felt more intense and high stakes,” recalls one of the original players, Margaret Heiner.  

Although they were not as seasoned as some of the other teams they played, the team ended their first season with only two losses, clearly dominating the competition. According to coach White’s daughter, Elisabeth White, the first season went “amazingly well.” Not only were the girls becoming bonded as a group, they also had an exchange student from Europe, Eiki Bortne, that year who was “incredibly skillful.”

Former goalie Liza Tartar recalls that the team was always “very competitive,” and had “incredible teamwork.” As a goalkeeper, one of my strongest memories is working closely with my sweeper, Sophie Zunz. “We built a strong defensive unit that played with discipline and organization, which not only helped us hold the line but also fueled our attack. That sense of connection and trust on the field made all the difference,” Tartar says.  

The next season, Ted White was replaced as head coach due to a new school policy that coaches must be a CHS faculty member. 

“Elisabeth was leaving CHS and going to boarding school, and so it was, you know, probably an appropriate time for me to stop,” says White. The rest of the original girls continued the legacy that they started.

By the time the first group eventually graduated, there were a fair number of local teams that were established. 

The program continued to progress in the years after the first cohort of girls graduated in 1994. A current staff member at CHS, Marcelle Van Yahres, started playing soccer at CHS in 1996. To Van Yahres, the culture of the team was always strong and she felt like the team was “very established,” despite the fact that it had been started just six years prior. 

Although it has been many years since these women played for CHS, it is clear that the program’s impact is not lost on them. 

“Without a doubt, playing on a high school girls’ soccer team had a profoundly positive impact on my life. There have been many moments in my professional career where I’ve drawn on the perspectives and skills I gained from being part of a team,” says Tartar. 

“Playing high school soccer was one of the best things I did. At the time, it was central to my life, I loved my teammates, they were my best friends, I loved to travel and I loved the competition. I had to have knee surgery my senior year which put me out of the season, but having played soccer taught me how to get through it. I learned how to be a mentor to others and the skills I learned as a team mate and a captain I have used throughout my life,” recalls Zunz. 

Currently, the CHS girls soccer team is still going strong. With two mercy rules and a tie against a top-district team, the composure of the current Knights reflects the teams that came before them. Without a doubt, the success story of the Charlottesville High School Girls Soccer team is incredibly strong, resistant, and yet to be concluded.