Western Albemarle couldn’t have asked for a better start, but Albemarle couldn’t have asked for a better response.
The Patriots found themselves in a substantial hole early in the second quarter. But all it took was a 2-minute run for the Albemarle offense to catchup. Behind an 9-1 run that stretched from the second quarter until deep into the third, the Patriots were able to take the lead and hang on for good late down the stretch for a 10-8 win over its cross-county rival.
“I still don’t know really who we are yet this year so we were kind of looking at 4-0 like ‘is this who we are?” said Albemarle coach Dave King. “There’s a lot of seniors so we were patient and then we went a man up so that helped us a good bit and the faceoff game was big. We don’t have one guy that’s great but we’ve got three or four that we throw in and use.”
Boosted by a pair of Carter Elliott goals, Western was in complete control for the first 15 minutes of the game. Elliott scored the first of his four on the night just 28 seconds in. His second came 22 seconds into the second quarter and just like that the Warriors were up 4-0.
“We came out of the gates fast, playing in transition and making the most of our opportunities,” said Western coach Alex Whitten. “We got up on them by moving the ball quickly and some unforced turnovers, which is what we said this game was going to be all about — hustle, ground balls and unforced turnovers. But we knew and we said to our guys, Albemarle is gearing up for a run, is capable of making a big run and we needed to be ready for that. We didn’t handle it quite so well, but you have to give credit to Albemarle.”
When given a man-advantage, the Patriots used it as a turning point. Albemarle’s big run started with David Calhoun. After a pair of Ian Davis goals and another goal from Justin Peck, the Patriots were suddenly tied at 4-4 with a little over two minutes of clock being burned to do so.
“Sometimes we get off to a bit of a slow start, but once we get going we know we can be really good and we really get up for the Western games,” Davis said. “We love the rivalry. They give it everything, we give it everything. It’s just a lot of fun to be a part of.”
Western was able to stop the bleeding briefly with Elliot making it a 5-4 lead with 5:16 until the break. But it was the last lead the Warriors would hold. With just over a minute to go, the Patriots got another goal from Peck followed by another from Calhoun on an assist from Ethan Blundin to give Albemarle a 6-5 advantage heading into the third quarter. Albemarle then put together three straight goals in the third, with Silas Breers, Hunter Johnson and Brogan Ezell scoring in succession to make it 9-5.
“We weren’t nervous about taking the ball to the net — we wanted to score and so we did a better job of just taking the ball in,” Davis said. “I think that was the key.”
From there the Warriors caught a bit of a break as the Patriots scored on themselves late in the frame. Albemarle scored on its own goal again to start the fourth, and suddenly it was a 9-7 game with a good finish on in store.
With 6:27 left in the game, Davis wrapped up the scoring for the Patriots and put his team up by a more comfortable 3-goal margin. With 2:59 to go, Elliot picked up his fourth and it was a 2-goal game again. In the last minute of play the Warriors earned a man-advantage and got good looks from Oliver Herndon and Elliot, but were unable to capitalize. Shortly after that though, the Patriots were able to run out the clock and put the win on ice.
“We had our opportunities and the kids played hard, we just came up a few plays short and Albemarle took advantage of some mistakes we made,” Whitten said.
On the night, Davis had a hat trick and three assists to lead Albemarle. Peck had two goals and an assist. Johnson had a goal and an assist. Calhoun finished with two goals. Nemo Lesesane had 13 saves in goal. While Albemarle’s defense had some early woes, the coaching staff stuck with it’s game plan and saw it’s senior-laden group respond in the second half.
“The good thing was we didn’t have to change anything on defense,” King said. “(And with Nemo) where do you shoot on him? He’s quick and his hard are good. He’s another seniors who’s paid his dues.”
For Western, Elliot led the way with four goals and an assist. Alexander Donovan had two goals.
