Western Albemarle’s girls soccer team surrendered the equalizer to Charlottesville early in the second half. That’s when a little bit of worry seeped in.
That panic was fleeting, and down the stretch, Western took control and finally got a breakthrough with under 10 minutes to play when Katrine Berg perfectly struck a corner that found Kate De Jong for the go-ahead game-winner. Another goal by Julia Berg quickly followed as Western closed the door on Charlottesville 3-1 for a critical Jefferson District victory.
“At first I think we panicked a little when they tied the game — kudos to them they did a really great job with the counter attack,” said Katrine Berg. “We really needed to work on getting the ball to feet and once we did that and got some corners that really helped us score the goals and get the momentum going.”
Katrine Berg factored into all three Western goals that all came essentially off set piece corners, with an assist on the opening goal that was a header by Sofia Benedetti late in the first half. Berg, kept putting the ball in a playable spot on corners, with De Jong finishing the second for the advantage.
“It’s kind of weird for a side back to run all the way up but (coach Jake Desch) look at me and nodded at me so I ran,” De Jong said. “He doesn’t even give me a spot to run he just says follow where you think the ball is going to land and I just ended up getting really lucky and it landed in a perfect spot. I think I would’ve run through a wall if I didn’t hit the soccer ball.”
The third wasn’t directly off a corner but the ball reversed off the first attempt after Berg’s corner and found Julia Berg on the near side of the frame for a finish and a 3-1 lead that put it out of reach for the Black Knights. The Warriors’ execution on set pieces was particularly encouraging.
“We’ve had a few goals on corners this year but mostly they’ve been on plays within the field so I think it’s really exciting that we’re getting some goals on set pieces,” Katrine Berg said. “We’re going to continue to work on that.”
The win gives Western an extremely early leg up in a Jefferson District race that’s shaping up to be hotly contested between Albemarle, Western, Monticello and Charlottesville in particular. The Black Knights were coming off a 1-1 tie against Albemarle and nearly forced the Warriors, the defending district champs, into a similar situation before the late breakthrough.
Charlottesville tried to find some similar magic in the most direct way after Maddie Packer connected on a 35-yard arcing shot against the Patriots, with Packer, an emerging force, taking a couple of long shots. But the Black Knights mostly connected well for a long stretch of the game, with Western’s solid defense only allowing occasional openings. Charlottesville took advantage of one of those on an overplayed ball early in the second half with Elizabeth Burns scoring with 32:04 to play.
“It’s disappointing, but you’ve got to give credit to Western,” said Charlottesville coach Marcelle Van Yarhes. “We didn’t play the game that we should’ve and we’re capable of playing — we have a young team but we definitely regrouped during halftime and I thought we did a good job of executing that at the beginning of the second half.”
This is the middle of a tough stretch for the Black Knights who played Albemarle Wednesday and then faced the Warriors and square off with Monticello Monday at home in their next match. The Warriors, meanwhile, will host Fluvanna County Wednesday night.
