The Western Albemarle girls soccer team scored just 77 seconds into Monday’s game at Monticello and controlled all 80 minutes in a 2-0 victory, spoiling the Mustangs’ senior night.
Western drew a corner kick in the opening minute and set it up perfectly, with Caitlin Harvey finishing from point-blank range to put the Warriors ahead early.
“We needed to catch [Monticello] off-balance and make them nervous early,” Harvey said. “That play wasn’t really drawn up at all — the ball just ended up in front of me and I put it in.”
The Warriors kept Monticello keeper Alexandra Blaine busy in her final regular season game in front of the home fans. Western fired 14 shots with Blaine registering six saves on the night. Several other Warrior shots zipped just wide of the net or over the crossbar.
“We had some great possession and a strong defensive shape tonight,” Western coach Jacob Desch said. “They have some really good players and a lot of speed.”
But while Blaine did her part to keep the Mustangs within striking distance, Western never allowed Monticello to get things going on the offensive end. Monticello managed just three and didn’t generate a corner kick. WAHS, on the other hand, took five corners. The Mustangs’ best chance came when Samantha Payne found herself all alone on a breakaway down the left side of the field with seven minutes to play, but Warrior keeper Natalie Marbury made the stop to preserve the shutout.
“We had pressure on them and we had cover,” Desch said. “That’s very important against a team like Monticello who loves to counterattack.”
WAHS finally doubled its lead in the 66th minute when Katrine Berg sped into the box unopposed and found the back of the net to give the Warriors some insurance in the stretch run.
Both teams will begin Conference 29 play on Friday against opponents to be determined.
