Just days after a slow start hampered Western Albemarle in the first half against Briar Woods, the Warriors’ dynamic offense roared back to life against Dominion in the Region II semifinals Wednesday night in a 12-3 victory.
Turner Whitworth got things going for the Warriors with the game’s opening goal, and he continued to pour it on, finishing with five goals and an assist. The senior attackman found his groove quickly and pushed the tempo for Western, a necessity because of a recent position shift by the Warriors.
“When we put Owen (Wangensteen) down there on attack (shifting Abbot Wallenborn to midfield) we need Turner to be more of a threat and tonight he was huge,” said Western coach Brad Haws. “He went to the goal hard—sometimes he’s content to dodge and feed but tonight he stepped it up a level.”
Outside of Whitworth, Western had a great deal of balance offensively, getting goals from five different players. Tyler Ward and Wangensteen finished with two goals each while Dom Losco, Christophe Drapanas and Wallenborn had a goal each. Wangensteen’s first goal came off an assist from long stick midfielder Stephen Schuler. Drapanas also had a pair of assist.
Ben Carew stood tall in goal with eight saves, preventing Dominion’s own high-octane offense — the Titans averaged more than 16 goals per game — from getting going.
“Our game plan was to be disciplined and take the shots we wanted,” Haws said. “And I think we just took the life out of the game.”
Western dominated on the faceoff, with Will Hannon and Will Brannock splitting the duties. Schuler and Sam Dupont then man the wings, both wielding longsticks, a rarity on faceoff teams, but it’s a luxury Western can afford with Schuler and Dupont’s strong stick skills.
Like the Warriors’ girls team, who will take on Monticello in the Region II finals, the Western boys will battle a district opponent, the surging Salem squad that knocked off E.C. Glass after losing to Glass three times in the regular season and district tournament matches. Western (14-2) and Salem will play at 7:30 p.m. Friday night.
