Years of scrimmages and the occasional out-of-district early season clash serving as the only chance for Albemarle and Western’s girls soccer teams to meet on the field ended Thursday night.
Two of the area’s top programs locked up in their first Jefferson District meeting in Crozet and the Patriots came out victorious, riding a pair of late second half goals to a 2-0 victory over the Warriors.
“As seniors we want to work hard and being in this new district we just want to show who we are and leave a mark for the underclassmen to follow,” said Albemarle’s Ali Starr. “We just wanted to come in here and get that win.”
Starr scored both of Albemarle’s goals, with the first coming with 17 minutes left when the Patriots finally solved Western’s defensive lockdown in the deep corner that ended several Albemarle attacks.
“In the first half we had lots of chances but it was that last pass up in the corner next to the goal that didn’t get finish,” Starr said. “In the second half we made sure we finished that pass and got the cross off.”
Hannah Eiden connected on the cross and after a touch by Megan Schnell, Starr blasted it home for what became the game-winner. She tacked on an insurance goal with under 30 seconds to play too as the Patriots picked up a huge win.
“We’re definitely excited, to come in and play strong, string those passes together and play our style of soccer whether we’re home or away we’re looking pretty good,” said Albemarle coach Amy Sherrill. “We’re not where we want to be, that’s for sure. We’ve got a long way until May and June but we’re pleased with the results we’ve gotten this week.”
An early injury to Western striker Fionna Fittiro took some of the punch out of the Warriors’ offensive attack and put the Warriors on their heels a bit. Albemarle was able to take advantage, unleashing a barrage of 21 shots. Western keeper Erin Farina proved up to the task on most of them, making three particularly tough saves among her 16 stops on the night.
“They’re definitely a strong program, well-coached and had a lot of talent,” Desch said. “But we were very proud of the way we competed. Our shape was great, it was very hard for them to break it down and (Farina) played phenomenally.”
Western, which has suffered through a series of injuries wore down during the second half as Albemarle kept up the pressure.
