Emmett Barger got his first chance to play in a game that counts against a lot of players he grew up playing with in Crozet as St. Anne’s-Belfield and Western Albemarle renewed a rivalry that hadn’t been a real game since 2014 Wednesday night.
Barger and the Saints made the most of it, cruising to a 15-3 win over the Warriors with Barger’s five goals and two assists leading the way.
“I have ultra respect for coach (Western’s Alex) Whitten and everything they’re doing over here and I get to play against my buddies, where I came from,” Barger said. “This helps us get back in the win column.”
Trent Moran also had a monster outing with five goals for the Saints and Connor Shellenberger finished with two goals and three assists. Michael McGraw had a goal and three assists while Pierre Reeves and Ryan Price each had a goal.
“That is about as potent an offense as you’re going to see,” said Western coach Alex Whitten. “That’s probably the best offensive performance that I’ve seen since I moved to the state of Virginia. Their lineup speaks for itself ”
It was a positive step for a STAB squad that had lost four of their last five coming into the clash with Western including two one-goal losses to Norfolk Academy and St. Christopher’s in the last two games. While some tough challenges await the Saints, getting a win under their belt could help shake them out of the heartbreak of a series of brutal losses.
“The last few games, especially Norfolk, we’ve gotten out to a hot start,” Barger said. “It’s just about moving the ball quick and finding the right dodging lanes and finding the right matchups.”
Noah Kurtz finished with eight saves for the Saints in the cage while Jago Gould led the Saints with seven ground balls and was a big reason STAB held a 16-5 advantage on faceoffs.
Western managed to draw first blood when Sam Stalfort put the Warriors up 1-0 less than two minutes into the game. But STAB led 9-2 by halftime.
“This is a game that tests our mettle and hopefully pushes us in a way that it’s a positive,” Whitten said. “But those guys are insane.”
Jack Reichert and Edgar Batcheller each scored once for the Warriors while Will Stalfort finished with eight saves in the cage while facing a barrage of shots from that explosive STAB offense.
The Saints will take on Woodberry Forest Friday at 5 p.m. in the squad’s final home game of the regular season while Western takes on Monticello Tuesday night.
