Western Albemarle girls soccer team boasts a pack of young talent, with freshmen contributing across the board in a big way.
They’ve proven throughout the year that they’re capable of playing quality soccer, and they did that again Thursday night in a 2-0 victory over Spotswood in the Conference 29 championship game. In the process, they also proved they could play with top-notch focus, defending the Warriors’ Conference 29 title without getting lost in the fact that they were moving on no matter what.
“They’re definitely playing with more confidence and they’re just playing well together as a team,” said Western coach Jake Desch. “We wanted to win a championship and defend that crown.”
Western freshman Jane Romness provided an insurance goal with under three minutes to play off a corner kick from Emma Ratcliffe, capping a day where the Warriors outshot Spotswood 28-3. Finishes seemed elusive, as the Warriors missed several opportunities to blow the game open. Cameron Hucek had the Warriors’ first goal on a corner kick with six minutes to play in the first half. Hucek bent that one directly off the corner and gave the Warriors some proof on the scoreboard of a dominant first half where they possessed the ball throughout.
“We really looked to possess and we also looked to attack the goal a lot because that’s what we’ve been struggling with lately,” Romness said. “We had lots of movement off the ball and really direct passes.”
The Warriors advance to the Region 3A West tournament, which they’ll begin Monday against a foe to be determined.
