Western Albemarle’s girls soccer team knows when to kick it into gear. When the Warriors get scored on, nearly every time, Western finds a response.
“Whenever we get scored on, we score again,” said Western coach Jake Desch. “We really amp it up, that’s the cool part of our team.”
Western’s Kayla Howell found that response with 10 minutes left against Hidden Valley Monday night to force overtime and then triumphed 2-1 in quadruple overtime to advance to the state championship match against Independence with a goal from Nicole Bilchick in overtime the difference-maker on the road.
The Warriors will take on Independence in the state title match Wednesday, with Western shooting for its fourth-straight Class 3 state championship.
Hidden Valley got on the board with 10 minutes left on a goal from way outside that bounded over the Western keeper’s head and into the goal. It turned out that was exactly the jolt the Warriors needed.
“I think once we got scored on, we really ramped it up,” said Howell, a freshman. “I think we were a little tense in the first half and then once we got scored on I think we played well and ramped it up.”
Howell serves mainly as a defender, but has a cannon of a leg as she demonstrated with a rocket of a goal against Fort Defiance last week from way outside. She delivered again in a huge way with 10 minutes left to play. On a throw-in, Cordelia O’Connell got it to an open Howell and Howell let it rip from 30 yards out, finding the far post for the equalizer. Hidden Valley had packed it in in the wake of going ahead 1-1 and Howell took advantage of that congestion in the box with the strike from outside.
That saved the Warriors’ season and eventually forced overtime, where Western kept up the attack. Western held a significant advantage in shots taken and simply struggled to cash in on those chances until Howell’s goal.
“We had good intensity and it just came down to executing our chances,” Howell said.
Bilchick had missed one of those chances earlier, sailing a free kick high over the crossbar. In the fourth overtime, she got another chance.
“She just knew what she needed to do this time,” said Western’s Brooke Whittier.
Bilchick unleashed a laser, blasting the ball in the upper 90 on the leftside for the game-winner during the second golden goal period. It was the third time in the last three playoff runs that Western has knocked off Hidden Valley en route to the title game.
“We all freaked out and it was super exciting — everyone was in tears because it was such a tough game and it ended on a really high note,” Whittier said.
Now Western gets a shot to end its entire campaign on a high note — they’re one win away from a fourth-straight state championship.
