Western Albemarle couldn’t pull away. Not in the first half after building a 5-goal lead. And not in the second half with James River seemingly answering goal after goal.
Then suddenly with 12 minutes to play, the Warriors started to put the Rapids away, closing out a 17-12 victory in the West Central Section semifinal to wrap up a VHSL tournament berth.
James River pulled within a goal at 12-11 and that’s when the Warriors reeled off four unanswered goals to take a 16-11 lead and never looked back.
Bridget Shaffrey poured in three goals and dished out four assists to, as usual, power the Western offense. Becca Moriconi also notched a hat trick with three goals and two assists. Ferris Wallenborn, Morgan Schuler, Linda Hexter and Julia Wood had two goals each as the Warriors employed a balanced offensive attack.
Moriconi had a big night on the draw too, hauling in five draw controls while Shaffrey and Wallenborn picked up four each.
Maya Langman made 10 stops for the Warriors in the cage.
Western will clash with Salem High Monday in the West Central Section title game, traveling to Salem for the battle with the Spartans, who’ve beaten Monticello and Albemarle so far in the tournament.
