In a West Central Division semifinal playoff game where the first half was dominated by the defenses, the last minute of the third and fourth quarters held a decidedly different feel.
When Monticello looked like it was establishing control in the third frame, Albemarle raced back to take the lead. Then when the Patriots had a healthy lead, the Mustangs came alive with time winding down to make the game very interesting, but a little late. In the end, top-seeded Albemarle was able to hang on for an 8-7 win in a physical game played in substantially wet conditions.
“None of us can really put a finger on it, but this team seems to respond when things are most chaotic,” said Patriots coach David King. “The biggest thing when we’re struggling is just turning to the ride. Ben Kyriacopoulos leads that, I think everone saw it late when he put a hit on their goalie. You’ve got Matt Crist who’s very skilled and then Steve Mastropaolo brings the size. Hustling, riding, just going after the ball when things are chaotic, that’s where we are at our best.”
Things started slow with the Albemarle going up 2-1 in the first quater and both teams exchanging goals in the second. Out of the break, Monticello was quick to even things up on a Chase Phillips score and with one minute to go before the fourth the Mustangs picked up its first lead of the game thanks again to Phillips.
But with 60 seconds left in the third, Albemarle found a spark. The Patriots retaliated behind a shot from Steve Mastropaolo and then reclaimed the lead in the final seconds before the horn with a goal from Brandon Reece.
Albemarle tacked on two more goals to start the fourth on a successful hidden ball trick converted by Mastropaolo on a pass from Hunter Brown.
“Hunter’s been doing it in practice so we’ve been trying it in man-up situations and that’s the second time it’s worked for me,” Mastropaolo said. “When we play all over the place, just a little unsettled, I think that’s when we play our best. We seem to thrive in it.”
They certainly found that. Josh Calhoun then made it a 7-4 contest. Ryan McCullough tacked on another goal to make a 5-0 run stretching from the second into the fourth. Then Monticello made a comeback attempt.
“It was one of those things that we knew if we stayed focused on the things we worked on in practice all week, from what we’ve learned from playing them earlier in the year, that we could score on them,” said Mustangs coach Matt Hicks. “At the end we had a few things go our way and then just a few that didn’t.”
Inside of six minutes to play, William Snipes broke the scoreless drought but time wound down to inside of two minutes before the Mustangs struck again. With 90 seconds to go, Spencer Van Dyke made it a 2-goal game. With 30 seconds to go, Drew Gaffney found the back of the net to set up a critical faceoff. Monticello found the ball with 10 seconds on the clock, but were rushed to shoot and Albemarle goalkeeper Jake Huber came up with the stop before launching the ball across the field to run out the clock.
“I was a little sweaty there at the end, it was nerve racking, but we pulled it out,” Huber said. “It’s tough playing a team for the third time, because you only have but some many defenses. Even the ones that you have really down pat, after a while, a team can catch on to them.”
For Monticello, Gaffney, Phillips and Snipes each had a pair of goals. Brodie Phillips finished with three assists.
Albemarle also had three players score at least twice in Mastropaolo, McCullough and Calhoun. Mastropaolo also added three assists while Brown had two. The Patriots won all but three faceoffs on the night. Huber came up with four saves.
Monticello awaits its opponent in the West Central Division consolation game, facing the loser of Charlottesville and Western Albemarle semifinal to be played today. Albemarle, already the regular season champion, will play the winner of that semifinal for the tournament title.
