By Paul Montana/Scrimmageplay.com Contributor
As coach of the Albemarle field hockey team, E.A. Jackson screamed “Do your job!” while pacing the sideline like it was, well, her job.
And in the beginning of her second season at the helm of the Patriots, Jackson is doing that job quite well. Albemarle field hockey – recently an afterthought – is now on the radar in a big way. The Patriots’ emotional 3-2 win over rival Western Albemarle in their home opener last night puts them at 2-0 on the season, and in quite unfamiliar territory.
“I don’t know if we’ve been 2-0 in a while,” senior Rachel Hochstetler said.
Not only are the Patriots 2-0, but they beat a historically powerful Western program. In 2007, the Warriors won the state championship and this season they bring back a strong core of players despite Effie Nicholaou graduating and moving on to play for UVa. Western’s star midfielder L.P. Desch, the reigning Group AA/A co-player of the year, “could go to a D-1 program right now and not have a problem competing,” Jackson said.
Albemarle seemed unfazed by the Warriors’ credentials. They won the battle for shots (13-8) and short corners (8-2). And, when a goal from Western’s Katie Noonan cut Albemarle’s lead down to one with 11:05 remaining, the Patriots simply battened down the hatches, hardly letting the Warriors into their circle the rest of the contest.
All night the Patriots seemed to find themselves in the right place at the right time. In a scramble in the circle, an Albemarle player more often than not ended up with the ball – whether it was getting off a shot in Western’s circle or clearing it out of their own. Hochstetler and forward Emily Miller both scored in such a manner; Katie Williams scored the ultimately decisive third goal on a shot rifled through the legs of Western goalie Lindsey Gibson.
Now Hochstetler and the Patriots have to try and push that record to 3-0 in a match at home with Colonial Forge Friday, while the Warriors will try to bounce back will take on St. Anne’s Belfield next Wednesday.
