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Swept it Right In: Albemarle field hockey beats Western, clinches district title

Albemarle field hockey’s defense did its job about as close to perfectly as a team could Thursday night. 

 

The Patriots kept Western at bay, held them up in the midfield and in the end, Albemarle’s keepers didn’t have to make a single save in a game that was largely played in the midfield.

 

“We’ve been working on rotating back so we were just making sure we were always there and stepping to balls,” said senior Kristen Hughlett. “(Western) was definitely pushing at us so we had to make sure midfielders were getting back and everyone is there.”

 

While the defense was clamping down, Albemarle took advantage of their own few offensive opportunities and cashed in once early and another time late to pick up a 2-0 win and secure a Jefferson District title with just two games left to play in the regular season. 

 

“This really helps us as we go into the postseason,” said Albemarle senior Sydney Snearer. “I think the energy that came off of this game was awesome and we really put our best effort on to the field.”

 

The Patriots’ first goal came in the opening minutes when Caroline Hughlett scored off of a Julia Bianchetto assist. That ended up standing up as the game winner, a big moment for a freshman to come up with that kind of goal in a game Albemarle needed. 

 

The Patriots’ strong group of young players has also come up big on defense. While Kristen Hughlett is a senior (and one of three Hughletts on the roster), freshman Kaley Maynard and sophomore Natalie Eagleson are also playing big roles on the back end of the defense for Albemarle.

 

“They’ve gotten a lot scrappier, more confident in themselves to step to balls,” Hughlett said. “They’ve been really helpful.”

 

After a long scoreless stretch, Snearer provided the book end goal and put it out of reach for Western with about two minutes to play. She finished off a cross from Caroline Jones, a junior who has emerged as a playmaker this year, with Snearer in the perfect spot as a result of a lot of practice time. 

 

“We’ve been practicing our crosses and rotations around the goal when somebody crosses it in,” Snearer said. “We finally were able to execute those cuts and passes. Caroline Jones hit it right in and I was right where we’ve been practicing and I just swept it right in.”

 

The Patriots have two games left to play with Charlottesville and Louisa left but they’ve clinched a fifth-straight Jefferson District crown. They’ll jump into the Region 5D playoffs in early November. 

 

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