Western Albemarle’s girls lacrosse team didn’t exactly stumble out of the gate offensively — the Warriors only stumbled based on their own gaudy standards.
Early in the first half Western was only up by a pair of goals. That change quickly when the Warriors exploded for a nine-goal run en route to a 19-5 victory over Loudoun County.
The Warriors led 14-3 at the break on the strength of that 9-0 run that closed out the half.
Western’s defense clamped down on Loudoun County, holding the Northern Virginia unit to just 15 shots.
Ellen Shaffrey continued her incredible final season with Western by pouring in seven goals and notched two assists. Shaffrey also wrangled seven draw controls, nearly outpacing Loudoun by herself in the category as Western held an 18-8 advantage on the draw. Bridget Shaffrey also got into that mix with five controls on the night to go with her goal.
Jeanette Fellows rang up five goals and dished out an assist. As usual, Anna Liebowitz triggered the offense most of the contest, spreading out six assists on the night. She got some help in those efforts from Peyton Brandt’s three assists. Brandt has had two strong games in a row as a distributor for the Warriors.
Mady Baker had two goals and a pair of assists while Stewart Summers picked up a hat trick with three goals.
Christine Fortner and Maya Langman combined for 10 saves in the cage for Western.
Western moves to 15-2 on the season and advances to the Region II semifinals at home Wednesday at 6 p.m. against Freedom, who beat Kettle Run to move on.
