By Luke Nadkarni / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Albemarle’s girls soccer team’s season came to an end in the Region 5A North quarterfinal as Tuscarora used a second-half goal from Tess Williams to come away with a 1-0 win on the Patriots’ home field Monday evening.
The Huskies, a stout defensive team, never allowed Albemarle to get into any kind of offensive rhythm, limiting the Patriots to just one shot on the evening. It came midway through the first half when senior Megan Schnell fired from 20 yards out, but the ball sailed harmlessly over the net. After that, the Tuscarora defense kept Albemarle away from the net.
“We knew [Tuscarora] had a good squad and that this wasn’t a good draw for us,” AHS head coach Amy Sherrill said. “We had a few key injuries, but our girls played their hearts out.”
The most recent of those injuries was the loss of senior Ali Starr a key contributor for the Patriots this season. Her absence noticeably hampered Albemarle’s ability to generate offense.
On the other hand, the Huskies kept Albemarle keeper Grace Leytham busy all night, registering eight shots, four in each half. The first half was a tug of war in which neither team was able to break through, and the teams went into the break tied 0-0.
“I thought Albemarle was a really tough team and I didn’t know what to expect,” Tuscarora coach Nicole Brower said. “It took us a while to break through their defense.”
The Huskies scratched the surface with 27:42 remaining in the game when Williams sneaked behind the Patriot defense and took a through-ball, leaving Leytham with no chance as she guided the ball into the bottom left corner of the net for what turned out to be the game-winner.
“[Leytham] covered the goal really well,” Brower said. “In the second half we came out motivated to just get one goal against her.”
In addition to Schnell and Starr, Albemarle will bid farewell to forward McKenna Rohm, midfielder Anne Brady and defenders Abby Davison and Zeina Doukan.
“This was one of our most successful groups of seniors,” Sherrill said. “They’ve made it to regionals each of their four years. It will be very hard to replace them.”
