Down by two goals to Colonial Forge and with a state tournament berth already in hand and halfway through the squad’s third game of the week, it would’ve been understandable if Albemarle’s boys soccer team had packed it in and looked ahead to next week’s Group AAA quarterfinal.
Instead, the Patriots got stronger.
“We were really lethargic — we just weren’t talking,” said Albemarle head coach Scott Jackson. “We asked them as coaches at halftime to dig deep and find some extra energy.”
Albemarle found its second wind and reeled off three unanswered goals to knock off a Colonial Forge team that already beat the Patriots three times this year 3-2 in the Northwest Region title game.
With the victory, Albemarle will host a Group AAA quarterfinal game next week.
Albemarle’s Rowen Perry kickstarted the three-goal second half 10 minutes after halftime when he finished off a Kai Marshall assist to pull the Patriots within a goal. Then just five minutes later, Jesus Duran unleashed the equalizer on a beautiful half volley from about 30 yards out.
“The ball hopped up perfectly for him and he just caught it real nice,” Jackson said.
After the Duran goal, the two teams see-sawed back-and-forth before Perry struck again with around four minutes left. Luc Fatton found Perry in open space about 20 yards out and the silky-smooth Perry beat a pair of defenders on the play before all but tapping the ball into the back of the net.
“We were all freaking out and I think he was the only cool one out there,” Jackson said. “He’s a real quiet kid, he doesn’t put himself in the spotlight. That was his 16th goal this year and it’s probably the quietest 16 goals, but he’s so valuable as a player and even more valuable as a leader.”
While the offense found another gear, the defense for the Patriots tightened up and shut down a dynamic Colonial Forge team. Goalie Matt Natale finished with six saves on the night.
“I think as coaches we’re just really proud the kids were able to stay focused,” Jackson said. “We wanted to go into the state quarters with some momentum and the kids found some resolve and turned it on in the second half.”
