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Early Blitz: Albemarle field hockey beats Monticello

Photo by Bart Isley

 

Albemarle field hockey is really figuring out how to tie things together on offense especially in the game’s early going, wasting little time feeling things out. 

 

“We have been working a lot on those through passes which was crucial to splitting the defenders and getting people open,” said Albemarle senior Liz Yow. “Running our offense that way really helped us get those goals early.”

 

It showed Wednesday night at home as the Patriots rolled 4-0 over Monticello to stay unbeaten on the year, with Caroline Hughlett notching two goals and an assist in the win. 

 

The Patriots jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Hughlett’s first goal that came off a setup from her sister Courtney Hughlett just a few minutes into the contest. Then Yow extended that lead to 2-0 early in the second quarter with an assist from Maggie Lynn and Abby Schiavone made it 3-0 just a few minutes later. 

 

That 3-0 halftime lead represented some good offensive work, but it also was a direct result of the way the Patriots managed to keep the ball largely in the offensive zone thanks to some hard-nosed work by the midfielders and defense. 

 

“We have amazing midfielders and it’s mainly their stick skills which help us keep the ball in our possession,” Yow said. “When we have cutters cutting it works really well because they can just dish it out and we’re open for the passes there.”

 

Caroline Hughlett tacked on a fourth goal with her second score early in the third quarter to put the game largely out of reach.  

 

Monticello was able to get on track after surrendering the early third quarter goal and clamped down on Albemarle the rest of the way. That’s a big step for a young Mustangs squad that has just two seniors and is dominated by a huge sophomore class. 

 

“We have 18 sophomores and they’re divided up between JV and varsity and it’s a weird season we have less than half of our normal numbers,” said Monticello coach Kaitlyn Bodine. “We played really well in the second half and got ourselves together, but Albemarle is a really good team.”

 

The Patriots will square off with Orange County on the road Thursday night while Monticello will host Western Albemarle Monday. 

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