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It is beautiful beneath the sea, but if you stay too long, you’ll drown

Albemarle versus Western boys soccer, 6:30 p.m. at Monticello Tuesday

 

The basics: This one is about redemption for Albemarle and proving the first time around wasn’t a fluke for Western. A little more than a week ago, the Patriots came to Crozet riding an incredible start to the season while the Warriors had put together a largely uneven campaign. Against the Patriots though, Western rose to the occasion and stalemated Albemarle en route to a 1-0 victory thanks to a Jake Paulson conversion on a penalty kick with under 10 minutes to play. It was an incredible defensive effort by the Warriors who played physical, hard-nosed defense that’s been missing at times this season. Albemarle, for its part, didn’t have its usual pace or energy, and the flat effort proved costly. Make no mistake though, when the Patriots are on, they’re an unreal high school soccer team. There’s a chance that the Saturday afternoon loss to the Warriors ends up being a wake-up call because Albemarle is capable of some big things this season. They have playmakers and strength scattered all across the field and depth coming off the bench. Western, on the other hand, could use the first win over the Patriots as a springboard, and another strong outingTuesday would be a huge momentum boost as the Warriors start to push toward the postseason.

 

Key matchup: Western’s defense takes on Albemarle’s scoring threats. Led by Brendan Moyers, Albemarle has an array of dynamic scorers that are capable of creating offense. The Patriots, when they’re clicking also move the ball extremely well when on the attack. In the squads’ first meeting, Western was able to hem in Albemarle on runs by playing physical with Moyers in particular. The Warriors will need a similar effort against a determined Albemarle squad Tuesday.

 

Who to watch: The keepers. Western’s Jon Whyte and Albemarle’s Jake Gelnovatch made the first meeting a thriller with some big saves in the air and top notch keeper play throughout the game. If those two are on point again, another nailbiter could be on the way.

 

The line: Albemarle by 1. The Patriots seem primed to put together a much stronger effort this time around as they take on the Warriors in a game that was scheduled for Monday but got postponed for weather.

 

Four more to watch

 

Western Albemarle vs. Charlottesville boys soccer, Thursday

 

Okay, so nobody wants another tie, right? But at the same time, there’s something great about these two that it always seems to come down to the wire. However, the big thing here is that Western has Albemarle on Tuesday first and then has to follow up with their other big rival. The Warriors came away with a huge win at home last weekend with the Patriots and if they beat Albemarle again on Tuesday, they’ll be brimming with confidence. Regardless though, the Black Knights, who have a fluid offense going right now, will be all too happy to make sure the Warriors get all they can handle. It’s hard to describe the pace and physicality of when these two meet, but since Scrimmage Play launched, this game has never been short of entertaining no matter the outcome.

 

Western Albemarle vs. Albemarle girls soccer, Friday

 

The first round didn’t go quite as expected in that the previous meetings between the two have been decidely more close. Albemarle’s 5-0 route of Western just last weekend sets the table for the Patriots to officially lay any questions to rest of who the best JD team is, or for the Warriors to get back to the way they played last May and June and give their rivals more than a run for the money. The interesting part here is that this game started Monday and will finish Friday. Albemarle has a 1-0 lead with 32:01 left in the first half, which is to say — almost an entire game to go. The Patriots defense has been nothing short of stingy, it’s young offense has found it’s groove since spring break. The Warriors need their offense to find the rhythm they had last spring, which is easier said than done against this squad.

 

Woodberry Forest vs. St. Anne’s-Belfield lacrosse, Friday

 

As far as local lacrosse is concerned, this is the rivalry, the game. Woodberry usually saves that term for anytime they play Episcopal, but again, when it comes to lacrosse, the Tigers get as geared up for STAB as any squad they face. And the reverse is true. Since Woodberry beat STAB in overtime of the state playoffs in 2012, the Saints have won four straight between three regular season meetings and one in postseason in 2014. The Tigers come in ranked eighth in the state, the Saints at fourth. This should be a great battle between two teams that thrive on their depth. While STAB might have the edge offensively, the Tigers might have it defensively. The timing on this one could not be better as both try and tune up for the playoffs.

 

William Monroe vs. Strasburg baseball, Friday

 

The Dragons are on a roll, winners of three straight (let’s call it three and half as they sit up 2-0 on Warren County in a game suspeneded because of weather) and get a team they’ve developed a quality rivalry with since joining the Bull Run District in 2012. Monroe took down Strasburg 8-7 in the first meeting. The Rams are one of the better BRD teams the Dragons face, year-in, year-out. Look for Spencer Eldrige or Cody Spencer to get the ball for Monroe here. Despite injury to Jacob Tomlin, starting pitching continues to be a bright spot for this squad. And since falling to Clarke, this offense and team in general has looked more like a team on a mission.

 

Team on the rise: St. Anne’s-Belfield girls lacrosse. STAB’s girls lacrosse team came into this year with some holes to fill after the graduation of several key seniors including Princeton’s Julia Haney and Denver’s Audrey Schreck. But this edition of the Saints has proven capable not just of keeping the Saints in the state title picture, but of taking major steps forward as the year has gone on. Earlier this year, the Saints lost to Collegiate, one of the squad’s top rivals and a near constant source of battles separated by just a single goal. But Annie Cory, Caroline DiGiacomo and McKenzie Maurer made sure they were ready to atone for that loss when the Cougars came to town last week. That trio accounted for a 11 of the Saints’ 13 goals and with goalie Brittany Schoeb and the STAB defense coming up big, that was enough to lift the Saints to a critical victory that puts them in solid position heading down the home stretch.

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