Albemarle’s boys soccer team defeated visiting Patrick Henry-Ashland 4-1 Friday night in the Conference 16 semifinals, clinching a spot in the 5A North regional tournament.
Marcel Berry, who led the way for the Patriots with a hat trick and an assist, struck barely six minutes in for Albemarle, taking a feed from Brendan Moyers and zipping past the Patrick Henry defense, beating goalkeeper Hunter Davis for a 1-0 lead.
“It’s always nerve-wracking playing that first elimination game,” AHS head coach Jeff Balnave said. “We knew Patrick Henry was a good team and that this wouldn’t be a gimme by any means.”
Later in the first half, Berry returned the favor, threading the needle on a through-ball to Moyers, who doubled the Albemarle lead with 16:42 left before halftime. Berry scored his second goal, this time on an individual effort, with 7:28 to go in the first half. Albemarle took that 3-0 lead into the break.
Albemarle controlled possession for much of the game and kept Davis busy all night long, outshooting Patrick Henry 15-5 for the game. Senior goalie Matt Natale registered four saves for AHS.
Patrick Henry senior Hunter Johnson cut into the Albemarle lead midway through the second half, freezing Natale and finding the back of the net to make it 3-1. But the AHS defense buckled down after that to preserve the victory, and Berry scored his third goal with three seconds remaining for the final margin.
“It feels great to be through to regionals, especially because last year we were out in the first round,” Berry said. “That was disappointing after going to states the year before.”
Albemarle will host the winner of the Orange County-Halifax County semifinal Monday in the conference championship.
