A goal away from a hat trick Tuesday night, Valerie Hajek looked a little angry about her potential third goal, a rip from just outside the circle, being waved off late in the second half against Culpeper.
In typical fashion for the Western senior, she chose a different, more measured explanation.
“I knew that one was going to be waved off but afterwards, that made me kind of fired up and I wanted to score again,” Hajek said.
A few minutes later she unleashed another blast from just inside the circle to round out a hat trick and cap a 4-0 victory for Western Albemarle in the Conference 28/29 semifinals.
With the win, the Warriors earn a spot in the Region 3A West tournament and a chance to battle the winner of the James Monroe/Monticello game for the conference title later this week.
“Especially having 12 seniors, we want to make the most of this postseason and go as far as we can,” Hajek said. “Whoever we play on Thursday I’m sure will be tough but we’re moving on to regionals and we’re all pretty excited.”
Hajek staked the Warriors to a 2-0 lead in the first half with her first two goals. Kira Repich had the Warriors other score in the second half to put Western up 3-0.
The Warriors did a solid job of maintaining possession throughout allowing just a handful of Culpeper shots, The Warriors’ best defense came quickly, near the top of the circle or in the midfield when Culpeper tried to transition the ball.
The Warriors have recently taken their aggressiveness up a notch too, looking to create better chances. That paid off in the semifinals as Hajek got going and Western earned short corner after short corner with Hannah Weyher handling the injection passes.
James Monroe and Monticello play Wednesday night and Western will face the winner in the title game Thursday night.
