By Luke Nadkarni / Scrimmageplay.com Contributor
Western Albemarle’s boys lacrosse team had already registered two regular-season blowout victories over Monticello going into Tuesday’s matchup with the Mustangs in the Charlottesville Group semifinals, and the third time was no exception as the Warriors cruised to a 17-1 victory in Crozet.
Luke Reilly’s hat trick led the way for Western, and 13 Warriors registered goals on the evening. Nic Crissey and Taylor Godine added a pair of goals each for Western.
The Warriors controlled play from the outset, but took several minutes to figure out Monticello goalkeeper Ben Landers, who made a series of nifty saves in the early going. Amos Atwell got the ball rolling for Western with an unassisted goal with 7:11 remaining in the opening quarter. Crissey doubled that lead three minutes later, and Western added three goals in the final two minutes of the quarter, including Reilly’s first tally, to lead 5-0 after one.
“We got out of the gate a little slower than we would have liked,” Western head coach Alex Whitten said. “We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well at the beginning. I think it was a credit to our team–we ask those guys to come out and execute at a high level, and we did that.”
The second quarter featured more of the same from the Warriors as they never let Monticello up for air. Reilly made it 6-0 off an assist from Steven Hearn four minutes into the quarter. Crissey got his second goal with 4:52 remaining, and the rout was on. Western led 11-0 at the half.
“It was good to get up early, shut them out on defense and be able to work our offense.” Reilly said.
The Mustangs switched keepers at the break, bringing in Thomas Hale, but that did little to slow the Western attack as the Warriors’ lead ballooned to as large as 14-0 before Andrew Gibson got Monticello on the board in the waning seconds of the third quarter off a feed from Colin Price.
Western will face off against cross-county rival Albemarle Thursday night for the Charlottesville Group championship. The Patriots defeated Fluvanna 23-6 in Tuesday’s other semifinal.
“The last two games [against Albemarle] came down to two goals each way,” Whitten said. “We just need to be 1-0 against them now and move on.”
