By Nick Eilerson / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
After over an hour of hustling, diving and shoving had taken place on Western Albemarle’s new turf field, the scoreboard read the same as it did prior to the opening whistle. But with less than five minutes to play in regulation, Albemarle junior forward Alex Bohn made a bold run toward goal that changed everything.
Bohn deftly spun past one defender, then fought his way through two more until he found himself one-on-one with Western Albemarle senior keeper Kai Shin. Bohn let loose a high flick into the net and the Patriots withstood Western’s desperate attempts to level the score in the closing seconds. In turn, Albemarle escaped with a 1-0 win Wednesday night.
“At the beginning of the second half we were pretty off and our passes weren’t so great, but I think we just stuck our heads through it,” Bohn said. “We all wanted the same goal so we just put our thoughts together and just went for it.”
Following a scoreless first half that featured few scoring opportunities for either side, Western flew out of the gates with a rejuvenated attack that kept Albemarle freshman keeper Matthew Natale on high alert. Natale came through for the Patriots time and again, making one superb save after another. Finally, in the 58th minute, it appeared Western would finally capitalize on its aggression in the final third, drawing a penalty kick after sophomore midfielder Grant Tolber was pushed to the ground in the box.
Western’s standout sophomore captain Hayes Fountain — who had been hounded all game by Albemarle’s defense — stepped up to take the kick. He couldn’t eally get a hold of the shot, allowing Natale to dive confidently to his left and deflect the ball out of danger. Natale quickly rose to pump his fists as his teammates cheered, signaling a sudden shift in momentum in Albemarle’s favor.
“I don’t know if [the penalty kick] woke us up at all, but it seemed like in the last 20 minutes we kind of took hold of the game a little bit and picked up our intensity,” Albemarle coach Scott Jackson said.
But Western refused to go away. Just three minutes after the failed PK, the Warriros sent a cross across the face of the Albemarle goal to an open Patrick Wayand, who took a touch before unleashing a shot on goal. Natale once again proved equal to the task, swallowing Wayand’s attempt to keep the match deadlocked.
Albemarle failed to record a shot on goal in the second half until the 71st minute, when a quick re-start near midfield nearly led to the go-ahead goal. The long ball fell at the feel of a streaking Damon McIntire, who slipped behind Western’s defense and rocketed a shot off the inside of the post. The ball then skirted all the way across the face of the goal-line, but no one was there for the rebound.
Western continued to press towards goal, but the Patriots’ defense continued to make life difficult for Fountain and the rest of the Western attack. And when the Warriors did manage to break past the back four, they failed to find a way past Natale.
“They got some opportunities, but I felt like we forced the momentum and pace better in the second half,” Rittenhouse said. “Going into that goal both teams probably felt like they had opportunities that they missed. At that point, we were kind of going, ‘Who’s going to make their next opportunity to decide the game?’ And that happened.”
Albemarle made the most of their opportunity and changed the outcome in a blink of the eye.
“Soccer’s an 80-minute game,” Rittenhouse said. “Rarely is it decided in one or two minutes, but sometimes it seems like that’s when it’s always decided.”
