For the third straight year, the Jefferson District titles are all Western Albemarle boys soccer’s to take home.
The Warriors’ swept the JD regular season and tournament titles with a 1-0 victory over Fluvanna County Thursday night at Fluvanna. But it wasn’t easy.
Fluvanna’s defense, led by keeper Jake Bachman came up with several key stops to stay tied with the Warriors despite Western’s ability to maintain possession except for isolated Fluvanna runs that threatened once or twice early in the game. Bachman made a particularly sterling stop on a rocket off the foot of Brandt Berry, with Bachman diving to his right to come up with the save.
The Warriors and Flucos battled to a 0-0 tie at halftime and the game was still deadlocked at 0-0 with under 11 minutes left. With the skies threatening, Western broke through. Harris Tolber ripped a shot from just outside the box that picked its way through several defenders and bounced off Bachman’s hands. Chase Stokes ran down the rebound and blasted it back in for a 1-0 lead with 10:35 left in the game.
About three minutes later, a weather delay hit, forcing the teams into the locker room. The team returned to the field after the delay and Western held on for the victory.
Western and Fluvanna both advance to the Region II tournament next week where both squads will try and prolong their seasons against a challenging Region field.
