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Western edges Orange County on late goal

It probably won’t be the last big-time goal Olivia Hajek scores, but it certainly was an impressive one in a critical game for Western Albemarle’s freshman forward.

Hajek knocked home the game’s only goal off a Darilia Evans feed with five minutes to play in Western’s 1-0 victory over Orange County Tuesday.

“I saw the ball in the corner and I just waited for the whistle, I feel like I jumped three feet in the air and I was screaming at the top of my lungs,” said Western’s senior goalie Lindsey Gibson who watched from the other end of the field. “She’s going to be here for three more years and she’s going to take care of the team, I can tell.”

From there the Warriors withstood the ensuing Orange charge with Gibson rejecting a number of shots from Orange forward Lauren Seal, who dominated the late action on offense for the Hornets. On a short corner with a little over three minutes to play, Gibson came up with two straight stops in the scramble to preserve the Warriors’ slim advantage and the shutout.

“All the adrenaline rushing it makes it really nerve-wracking,” Gibson said. “(The win) let’s us know that, yeah, we’ve got a lot of work to do, but we can come out with a lot of skill.”

Gibson has been solid early for Western (5-2, 1-0), and that comes as little surprise as she earned second-team All-State honors as a junior. If she can maintain Tuesday night’s level of play — she had six saves in the win — the Warriors should be able to make some noise in the Region II tournament if Western keeps its tradition of post-season play.

“We played in this really tough tournament up in Herndon last weekend—all Group AAA schools except for us and Tabb—and she played excellent,” said Western coach Mia Fields. “She got pummeled, but she’s been playing better and better every game. I have a lot of confidence in her back there.”

Western held only a slight advantage in shots with five as opposed to Orange’s four. The Warriors did dominate the short corners though with eight to the Hornets’ four.

Orange (5-2, 1-0) is a squad that’s had its share of slow starts over the years and should begin to find its stride over the next couple of weeks. After a frustrating loss to Kettle Run, the Hornets bounced back and shut out the Cougars at home 3-0, so clearly the steps are being taken. But to find that next level and secure a second-straight berth to the state tournament, the Hornets need to find someone to carry the load late in games during crucial stretches.

“It seems like we get that swagger at the end of the season but we don’t bring it at the very beginning,” said Orange coach Tricia Grabeel. “When you get it in that circle someone has got to want the ball and someone has got to be that player that’s going to put it in the cage.”

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