With 37 seconds left to go in the 2002 lacrosse state final, Woodson was losing by a goal to Rockbridge County. The Cavaliers would equal the score, and go on to win the state championship in overtime, thanks to a champion effort on the part of Ashley McCulloch, a freshman.
"Winning the states in double overtime my freshman year," is one of her favorite memories from Woodson, said Ashley McCulloch, a 2005 graduate. "To work so hard and win a championship at the end is the greatest feeling," she added. McCulloch scored the last three goals of the game to ensure the Cavaliers would lift the state trophy. According to Darah Bonham, the Woodson girls lacrosse coach at the time, McCulloch intercepted the opposing team's pass, before scoring the tying goal to send the game into overtime.
"She took over the game. I didn't put pressure on her [as a freshman]. She was only 14 years old, but she just took care of business," said Bonham.
MCCULLOCH WOULD have plenty of opportunities to lift championship trophies as well as feel the pressure of intense situations. While at Woodson, she earned a varsity letter 11 out of 12 seasons. She was a four-time varsity athlete in lacrosse and basketball, and a three-time letter-winner in field hockey.
"She epitomizes the type of player you want on your team, because of her level commitment, athleticism and approach to the game," said Bonham.
McCulloch's teams at Woodson won eight Liberty District titles, six Northern Region titles and four Virginia state championships. Three of the four state titles were in lacrosse, her sophomore year being the exception. The other title came in field hockey her junior year, when she helped the program to its first ever state championship.
"She is the best female athlete that I came across in my 12 years in the Fairfax area," said Bonham. He said he first met McCulloch during a summer camp at Woodson High School. She had only finished fifth grade, but was already beating some of the high school girls in certain competitions. Bonham said he remembers a throwing competition in which McCulloch threw the ball farther than any of the high school girls, even those who were bound for college.
"She was always subtle and effective," he said.
TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS aside, McCulloch boasts an impressive resume of individual honors as well. She received numerous all-district and all-region honors, including the district and regional player of the year in both lacrosse and field hockey her senior year. At the end of her senior year, McCulloch was selected as the Fairfax County Women in Sports' Athlete of the Year.
During the lacrosse season of her senior year, McCulloch recorded 110 goals, setting her career total at 240 goals — both are Woodson records.
Renee DeVarney spent four years as the girls basketball coach at Woodson, the same four years McCulloch played for the Cavaliers.
"I was very lucky to have her as a freshman my first year," said DeVarney, now the women's basketball coach at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. "She had an intense competitive spirit." As a collegiate basketball coach, DeVarney also spent time at top-level programs such as West Virginia, Iowa and Duquesne. She said McCulloch's competitiveness is stronger than any she had seen in her time spent in collegiate athletics.
"She never said a word. She just did what was asked of her," said Devarney, who added that despite all of the different activities McCulloch was involved in — including club sports outside of high school — she was always able to concentrate on the task at hand. "She never got tired. She was still able to come to practice and be fiery," said DeVarney.
MCCULLOCH TOOK an interest in sports early on. She had two older brothers growing up, and her father always had her playing boys sports, she said. Her main sport prior to high school was soccer, but her first love was lacrosse.
"I love the running and the hand-eye coordination," said McCulloch. She said the sport has taught her never to give up on things. "You can always come back," she said.
While McCulloch loves to play in every lacrosse game, she said her favorite ones are the close games, and the games in which her team is the underdog. As far as her busy athletic schedule is concerned, she said staying active helps her organize her time. She said she gets easily bored on days when she does not have practice.
Because she fell in love with the game, McCulloch attended the University of Virginia's summer lacrosse camps from an early age. She said the coaches at Virginia noticed her at the camps, and then talked to her as soon as the rules allowed them to. McCulloch's recruiting choice was made relatively easy. She took official visits to Virginia and the University of North Carolina, but felt Virginia was a better fit for her. McCulloch chose to remain a Cavalier and committed to Virginia in September of her senior year, silencing what could have been a boisterous recruiting process.
"I told her to go out and try out for the basketball team at Virginia," said DeVarney.
BONHAM, IN the meantime, moved with his family to Charlottesville, and has seen McCulloch's games at Virginia. He said she fits into the team great, and is now surrounded by some of the best players in the nation. Because of that, he said, she does not have to take on the game herself and score as many goals as she did at Woodson. The Cavaliers went on to win the ACC title in her freshman year, in which she saw ample playing time in the midfield. Bonham said McCulloch's athletic success comes from her ability to make her teammates better, and being modest while doing so. She also had an attitude of never losing, he said. "If we were down in a game she would say, 'well, we're not losing,' and then she would find a way to win it," said Bonham.
McCulloch is now looking forward to her sophomore year at Virginia. She is eagerly awaiting the first lacrosse practices and games.
Ashley McCulloch is 50 in a survey of the area's Top 100 Athletes by Connection Newspapers in 2000.