By Price Thomas / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
In a game with large implications in the Jefferson District Boys Soccer standings, Western Albemarle’s Avery Walker found the winning goal as the Warriors ground out a hard fought 1-0 victory against a scrappy Louisa outfit on Monday night in Crozet.
The Warriors largely dominated the first half, although they were unable to capitalize in front of goal. The trio of sophomore Hayes Fountain, freshman Forrest White and sophomore Grant Tolber proved to be problematic for the Lions’ defense, keeping goalkeeper Andrew Perry busy for much of the half. In the 29th minute senior playmaker Ian Dusci found a streaking Richard Beckett-Ansa in stride behind the Louisa defense. With the speedy forward bearing down on his net, Perry instinctively dove to his right, smothering the initial shot as well as covering up any rebound opportunity.
“We looked emotionally hung over from our Friday game where we clawed back from an 0-2 deficit”, commented Warrior Coach Paul Rittenhouse. “We play good soccer so it’s not like we are trying to develop something that doesn’t already exist, we just had a tough night executing.”
In the second half both teams came out more aggressive, with the Lions looking particularly dangerous on counter attacks. The level of physicality in the game began to rise and 19 minutes from the final whistle the game reached its boiling point as senior Western defender Patrick Wayand was issued his second yellow card, equivalent to a “soft” red card, which resulted in his ejection from the contest.
“I think that an unintended result might have been a little bit like a technical foul in basketball”, said Rittenhouse. “It sparked our guys a little bit, got them frustrated, raised the energy level and suddenly we executed better.”
Feeding off of the newfound energy, it took the Warriors a mere 34 seconds to find the decisive goal. Off of a long free kick from classmate Dusci, Walker found himself in front of goal and calmly slotted the ball low and past the sprawling Perry. A lack of communication almost doomed the Warriors to their fifth tie of the season, but a sliding effort by junior Aidan Barkley denied the Lions the tying goal with 14 minutes to play.
As the Jefferson District season winds down and with the playoffs fast approaching, each game becomes increasingly important and the players are aware of the magnitude of each contest.
“We have to play like we’re down a goal,” Walker said. “Every time we play with that mentality and sense of urgency we score goals.”
With first through sixth place in the Jefferson District separated by a meager four points, expect the Warriors to play their remaining games with an aggressive mindset as they jockey for playoff positions with the regular season rounding to a close.
