Less than two minutes into the first overtime, Monticello’s Sarah Mitchell took a penalty stroke from just a few feet out that glanced off the right post and clear of Western Albemarle goalie Lindsey Gibson.
It was the closest either team would get in either 15-minute overtime as Western Albemarle and Monticello played to a 1-1 tie Thursday.
“It’s always disappointing when you see your kids play with so much heart, go after the W and not get it,” said Monticello coach Katie Owens. “But I’m really proud of them, 90 minutes of fight is pretty exhaustive.”
Western couldn’t capitalize on any of the corners during the overtime stints largely because of solid plays by Monticello defenders like Abby Cervelloni, who came up with several critical deflections in the circle. Cervelloni redirected a strong drive by Desch early in the second overtime.
But poor execution is also plaguing the Warriors occasionally, who have shown some inconsistency, playing well as a team against Orange a week ago, but struggling at times against the Mustangs.
“We just seem to leave a lot of opportunities on the field,” said Western coach Mia Fields. “We need to start closing the door on things.”
Monticello seems to disrupt the Western offense in a way Orange County, currently in second place in the JD despite two losses to Western, doesn’t, but the Hornets consistently create more scoring chances against the Warriors than Monticello.
After a scoreless first half, Monticello (7-3-1, 3-2-1 Jefferson) struck first when Paige Lipscomb blasted a long drive off a Brittany Haun pass into the Western goal. But just a few minutes later, a determined L.P. Desch weaved her way through several Mustang defenders and knocked home the equalizer while colliding with Monticello’s goalie.
“We tried to shut down L.P. again — she scored on a corner against us last time, but she went through four of our defenders because she’s an amazing player,” Owens said.
Much the same scenario played out in Western’s game against Orange last week where the Hornets struck first and the Warriors responded.
“It’s nice that we feel a sense of urgency once we get scored upon, but we need to start scoring first,” Fields said. “And then still feel the urgency to continue on.”
Desch took six shots and was allowed to operate a little more freely than she did in the Warriors’ first meeting with Monticello. If Western (9-3-1, 6-0-1) can continue to free her up against teams determined to stop her, the goals will likely start coming.
The Warriors take on Louisa County Tuesday while an Oct. 15 match with Orange County looms for the Mustangs.
