The clock didn’t matter anymore and Courtney Elhart knew it. The referee had told her moments before that the final play of the game would be played until the whistle, rather than when the buzzer sounded when time expired. Holding a slim one-goal advantage with just seconds remaining, Elhart and the Albemarle defense had to make one stop on a penalty corner to advance to the region title game.
“I knew I would have to give it 100 percent,” Elhart said. “I had to lunge to the left, stop the ball, anything to do it. And I knew my defense would back me up no matter what decision I made.”
The Albemarle goaltender made the save and was immediately mobbed by her teammates as soon as the ball was cleared and the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the game. The Patriots escaped with a 1-0 victory over Mountain View in the region semifinals.
“There were definitely tears,” Elhart added after the game. “I was overcome with all the emotions.”
Elhart, who was making just her third appearance in goal for Albemarle, chose just the right time for her first career shutout, including four saves.
“She has stepped up for her team in more ways than I can count,” said Albemarle head coach Brittany McElheny. “She keeps working hard and getting better every day.”
It was a defensive showdown, as Mountain View’s goalie Emily Arvesen had five saves on six shots on goal.
There was no score after the first quarter and for a while, it looked like it would remain that way heading into halftime. Then with less than two minutes left in the second quarter, Albemarle recorded the game’s only goal on a backhand shot by Caroline Hughlett off a pass from Lauren Grady.
Mountain View had been able to get the ball inside the circle in the first half, but could not generate any shots on goal off of those opportunities. In the second half, that changed. Mountain View immediately had one of its best chances to tie the game on a fast break but Elhart made a huge save.
Caroline Hughlett had an opportunity to extend the Albemarle lead late in the third quarter on a penalty corner but her backhand shot went off the side of the cage.
In the fourth quarter, Albemarle was less aggressive on the offensive end as they tried to play keep away to kill the clock.
“We kind of backed off of our offensive game a little bit earlier than I probably would have been comfortable with,” said McElheny. “But our defense knew that they needed to hang in tight.”
With around 40 seconds left in regulation, Mountain View drew a penalty corner which essentially could decide the game. The Wildcats sent the ball in and had a quality look at the goal but Elhart made the save of her life. The ball was batted around a few times before the referee whistled the play dead and the Patriots rushed the field to celebrate their victory.
“You practice the way you play and we practiced so hard this season,” Elhart said.
With the win, Albemarle advances to the region championship game on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Stafford.
