By Nick Eilerson/Scrimmageplay.com Contributor
Monticello charged, but Western Albemarle held their ground. The Warriors withstood a furious late second half rally and held on to defeat Monticello 3-2 Tuesday night in a heated contest featuring two of the area’s stronger field hockey squads.
The game appeared to be all but over when Western Albemarle senior Stewart Summers gave the Warriors a 3-0 lead on a rebound goal with 16 minutes left to play in the second half. But two late goals by Monticello junior Kaitlyn Bodine pulled the Mustangs back within striking distance. A frantic scramble in front of the Western Albemarle goal ensued in the final seconds amid the desperate rallying cries streaming from the stands, but Monticello came away empty-handed.
“Our goal on Thursday is to start the game with the intensity we finished with tonight and really grab hold sooner,” Monticello coach Katie Owens said. “But I’m really proud that we played down by three, especially after that second timeout, and being down two starters. I’m proud of our effort.”
Western Albemarle jumped out to an early lead thanks to senior Madeline DuCharme, who slammed a high shot into the cage only five minutes into the game.
“I think it’s really good that we managed to get corners and goals and worked really hard in the beginning,” DuCharme said. “I think we’ve gotten a lot better at getting good passing combinations together, especially with a fairly young forward line.”
The rest of the half featured few goal-scoring chances as both teams battled hard for possession in the middle third. A scary moment transpired with four minutes remaining in the half, when Monticello senior Olivia Hatch took a blow to the neck and crashed to the ground in front of the Mustangs’ goal. She remained on the turf for several minutes before being carried to an ambulance in a stretcher, but she was able to give the worried crowd a thumbs-up on her way out.
Just three minutes into the second stanza, Western Albemarle sophomore Olivia Hajek weaved through the Monticello defense and picked out senior Krista Brown, who fired it home to extend her team’s lead to 2-0. The Mustangs responded to Summers’ late goal when senior Brittany Haun dished left to Bodine, who slotted the ball home to make the score 3-1 with 12 minutes remaining. Bodine struck again with four minutes left on the clock, but Monticello could not find an equalizer.
“We need to play our game the entire 30 minutes and keep going with the passing game that got us those goals in the first ten minutes,” Western Albemarle coach Mia Fields said. “We just got a little nervous and started playing ping pong- hitting, hitting, hitting. We need to slow down and go back to the things we work on in practice every day.”
The Warriors take on Louisa County on Thursday, while the Mustangs will face Kettle Run.
