The two goals were about as close to perfect as Albemarle could’ve hoped.
And the second handed the Patriots an unlikely 3-2 home victory over Commonwealth power Riverbend.
“That’s probably the biggest one of the season,” said Albemarle’s Kai Marshall. “Definitely.”
With around four minutes to play and Albemarle down 2-1 to a talented Riverbend squad, Marshall lofted a perfect blast toward the Riverbend goal. Daquan West elevated and buried the ball in the back of the goal for the equalizer with a header.
“I just wanted it more, I wanted to win this game,” West said. “I saw the ball back pass and then I saw (Marshall) on it.”
Then, just a short time after that dynamic goal, Albemarle drew a penalty just outside Riverbend’s box. Marshall lined up the free kick and blasted it into the box.
“It was more of me just kicking it to a good spot, but I knew a guy like Shane, Michael or Daquan would get onto it,” Marshall said. “Then Daquan did what he did.”
West exploded off the sound of the boot and then slid into the ball, nudging it past Riverbend’s keeper for the winner. From there, Albemarle held on, with freshman keeper Matt Natale making a save during the harrowing three-minute stretch. Albemarle was slapped with a yellow card during the waning minutes and had to overcome a free kick and even a desperation corner kick as time expired.
“A lot of our seniors have plugged away—they didn’t come in the program and just light it up right from the start,” said Albemarle coach Scott Jackson. “A lot of those kids have really worked for what they’ve got so I was really happy for them. It was a nice way to end your senior season so to speak.”
Riverbend took control of the contest on a goal with around 15 minutes to play that broke a 1-1 deadlock. But Albemarle managed to rally with the Marshall-to-West connection changing the course of the contest.
Gokhan Yetim, a Turkish native, scored Albemarle’s first goal, but Riverbend managed to even the score at 1-1.
Albemarle will now get another home game, a Commonwealth District quarterfinal Friday night.
