In between stoppages of play, her teammates would run out to her and give her ice – she had more than earned it. It was hot, humid and ugly weather for anyone on the lacrosse field, but it was an awful lot warmer for Christine Fortner. Not only was she burdened with the extra equipment, she was also put to work. Western Albemarle got off to a slow start offensively, and Fortner’s four stops in the first half proved critical in keeping the Warriors from having to go punch for punch with Battlefield.
“She’s the heart of our defense,” Western coach Nancy Haws put it simply.
Soon enough though, Western’s vaunted offense reared its head, and while the Bobcats scored the first two goals of the game, the Warriors responded with seven of the next 10 scores. And with a healthy lead heading into the second half, Western didn’t falter, and, as such, the team won its first ever Group AAA/AA quarterfinal game in school history, 13-6.
“This is off our back – finally,” Haws said. “The girls really wanted this win and so I think they were a little nervous at the start, but it’s such a thrill to take this team and get to the next level.”
The first five minutes of the game were calm, but in a span of 30 seconds, Morgan Clark and Mary Margaret gave Battlefield a 2-0 lead. Western responded two minutes later on a goal from Abby Wheeler assisted by Stewart Summers. Much in the same fashion as the Bobcats did, the Warriors scoring came in streaks. Just 90 seconds after Wheeler’s goal, Jordan Haws and Ellen Shaffrey had Western up 3-2 a little less than midway through the half.
“As soon as we scored that second goal a couple of us got together and said, ‘Hey let’s use this and take it as far as we can,” Jordan Haws said.
From there the scoring would continue, but so did Fortner’s strength in net as she kept Battlefield from answering back and finished with eight saves.
“After I make that first save I really get rolling,” Fortner said. “I really get motivated and excited. My defense also did a great job. We just couldn’t let down and let them get back in it.”
Having the defense step up was a big key for the Warriors as one of the teams best defenders, Anna Krueger, was sidelined because of a pinched nerve acquired during Region II play.
Shaffrey scored twice more in the half, and with goals from Jeannett Felows and Peyton Brandy, the Western lead was three at the break.
Battlefield senior Sydney Welch opened up the scoring in the second half, but two more goals from Shaffrey, three more from Wheeler and a score by Kellen Haley proved to be too much for the Bobcats as the Warriors closed the last 21 minutes of play on a 6-1 run.
“I thought we played great on offense there, but I’ve got to congratulate our defense,” Shaffery said. “They were able to stop everything and without them, we would have been in a lot more trouble.”
Western heads to the state semifinals on Tuesday where they will play an opponent to be determined at Westfield High.
