Western Albemarle’s girls soccer team knew it couldn’t get frustrated. When Charlottesville made extra efforts to pack it in defensively, Western couldn’t come unglued, or they’d face problems that plagued them in the program’s first meeting that ended in a 1-1 deadlock.
“It was definitely a struggle, this is one of the games where it’s really hard to be patient,” said Western Albemarle’s Ellie Cox. “I think it was important for us to keep a cool head and to keep going at them. I think we persevered.”
The Warriors persevered to the tune of a 4-0 victory over the Black Knights in the Region 3C semifinals, beating the Black Knights to advance to the region title game on Friday against Fort Defiance.
“We prepare for this every year and it’s an amazing feeling,” said Western’s Brooke Whittier. “I’m really excited for our team and we’re really pumped to keep going.”
Whittier struck first for the Warriors with 15 minutes left in the first half. Western sent a corner in and after a mad scramble, the ball seemed to be in Charlottesville’s control, but Cat Domecq made a tremendous play to regain control and force it back toward the goal while breaking through a couple of defenders. Whittier cut at just the right time and buried it for a point blank goal.
“It was a whole team effort, we practice that in practice every single day and Cat Domecq made a huge tackle for me and I was able to get that garbage goal,” Whittier said.
Phebe Ryan tacked on another goal just before the half, benefiting again from an attempted Charlottesville clear as she swiped the ball and finished with her left foot. It was the first of two goals for the freshman Ryan as she scored again with 3:24 left in the game to push the lead to 4-0. Gabi Andres added another in between Ryan’s goals with 9:13 to play.
The Warriors’ controlled the ball in the Charlottesville half much of the game and the Black Knights’ defense held for more than half of each half, but Western’s patience paid off in two goals at the back end of each of those halves. It was a marked improvement over the first performance against the Black Knights and potentially an important step forward as the Warriors try to keep their state title defense rolling.
“We’ve worked technically on how to get behind their defense when they’re packing it in,” Cox said. “But it’s also just team bonding — it’s important to put everyone together and work together and I think throughout the season we’ve bonded and become closer.”
The loss ends the run of a strong eight-member senior class that has helped lead a resurgence of Charlottesville girls soccer over the past few years including Andrea Lefkowitz, Maddie Packer, Margaret Neale, Gabrielle Sifri and Olivia Pemberton. The Black Knights should return key pieces like freshman goalie Kathryn Lenert and junior Elizabeth Burns next year.
The Warriors advance to take on Fort Defiance Friday night on the road in the state championships.
Scrimmage Play contributor Emmy Franklin contributed to this story.
