Not since 2006 has Western Albemarle dropped a Jefferson District contest, and with a 21-1 win over Charlottesville in the JD semifinals on Tuesday, the Warriors are now just one win away from making it five straight seasons with a pristine record. Behind a furious start offensively and lots of pressure on the Black Knights clearing attempts, it was a one sided affair for Western as they overpowered a young and developing Charlottesville squad.
“I always tell our players that you don’t have to run up and down the field if you can keep the ball here (on offense),” said Warriors coach Nancy Haws of her team’s successful pressure. “(Pressure up front) is something that not a lot of schools do, but you’re starting to see more and more of it. It’s actually become team motto for us — work smarter, not harder.”
Ellen and Bridget Shaffrey got Western started as they slashed through the center of the Black Knights defense and saw success both with bounce shots and shots in the top shelf. With Anna Liebowitz and Jeanette Fellows getting in on the mix, it was 6-0 in the first six minutes into the first half.
“We came out thinking that we can’t think less of these district games,” Ellen Shaffrey said. “The first half we really wanted to play our absolute hardest, and if that meant the attack had the ball the whole time, then so be it.”
Charlottesville netted its lone goal of the game a little over half way through the first thanks to Isabel Sullivan. Unfortunately for the Black Knights, Western controlled the ball for the vast majority of the rest of the contest.
Up 7-1, the Warriors were able to double their lead going into the break as Stewart Summers, and with the clock melting away, they tacked on seven second half goals to wrap up the win.
“We’re getting to that point where we’re practicing and looking forward to the games out of our district and out of our region,” Summers said. “Our mindset is “what can we do to get ready to play a Langley or a Chantilly” in practice and even in our games right now.”
Christine Fortner started the game as Western’s goalkeeper, but was able to trade sticks and loose some padding to be able to finish the game playing up. The senior keeper scored the final goal of the game, much to the delight of her teammates.
“It was really exciting for me,” Fortner said. “Everyone was working really hard to get me the ball and when I got it I just shot. It was really different. I’m used to trying to keep the ball out of the net, not putting it in. It was also different because I’m used to working with my defense, not the attack. Seeing Jeanette and Ellen around me threw me off.”
Ellen Shaffrey led Western with seven goals, a pair of assists and 10 draw controls. Fellows had six total points with four goals and two assists. Liebowitz netted five points with two scores and a trio of helpers. Stewart Summer scored four goals while Bridget Shaffrey put in three.
Mustangs shake off pesky Spartans to reach title game
It certainly wasn’t easy in the first half, and the first few minutes of the second had the JD semifinal contest between Monticello and Salem looking like it might go down to the wire. But something clicked for the Mustangs in the last 20 minutes of play as they went on a tear to earn their second straight Region II bid by beating the Spartans 16-7.
“We’ve definitely, unfortunately, have been a second half team,” said Monticello coach Karen Hackett. “That’s what happens with younger girls, but as we got our momentum going, seeing the options, winning our draw controls and being intense on both ends we got it together. It’s just about making a decision and they did that in the second half.”
Trailing by three going into the second half, Salem came out and made a one goal game in the first six minutes of the play out of the break. That’s when the Mustangs officially pulled it all together though as the defense surrendered just one more goal for the rest of the night while the offense led by Brittany Haun, Ari Slate and Sydney Larese broke off a 9-1 run to end the game.
“For whatever reason we’ve been a little jittery,” Haun said. “But we decided to turn it on there after (Coach Hackett) asked us to. She shouldn’t have to do that. We weren’t sure what was wrong in the first half, but it was time to go.”
Monticello started well in the first, going up 3-0 in the first three minutes of play on goals from Jessie Valentic, Slate and Haun. Salem responded soon after it found itself in the early hole as it tallied four of the next five goals in the game to tie the game at 4-4 with ten minutes left in the first. Those last ten minutes belong to Monticello though as Haun and Slate tacked on three goals between themselves, the last one being from Slate with just seven seconds on the clock to make it 7-4.
As the draw controls worked into Monticello’s favor in the second half, so too did the fast breaks, and Salem struggled with the Mustangs aggressive give-and-go approach. Haun and Larese caught fire for a six minute stretch where the two score four alternating goals to make it 12-6.
“We had a lot of good transitions,” Haun said. “That usually starts with your goalie or defense. We got the passes up the field and that allowed everyone to get open and down the field with numbers.”
With seven minutes to play Maggie Echols made it a seven goal game, and late strikes from Larese and Valentic pushed their team out in front even further.The last 33 seconds of play were called off from after a lightening strike.
Haun led the way with seven points on the night split between four goals and three assists. Coming in with six points was Slate who netted five goals and an assist. Valentic had a pair of scores to go with a pair of assists. Larese had a hat trick with all of her goals coming in the second half.
Monticello (13-2, 9-2) will face top seeded Western (13-2, 11-0) on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the JD finals. Salem and Charlottesville will play for the third and final Region II bid in the consolation game on Thursday at 5 p.m. Both games will be played at Western.
