Brendan Moyers has been a fixture at center midfield for the last few years for Albemarle’s boys soccer team, setting the table for prolific scorer Marcel Berry.
That changed Wednesday night as Moyers debuted in his new spot, further up in the formation for the Patriots.
“He’s traditionally a central midfielder because he’s been feeding Marcel in the past and this year it’s kind of his turn to maybe finish more of those chances on his own,” said Albemarle coach Jeff Balnave. “We weren’t sure if that was something he’d be comfortable doing but I think he answered that question tonight.”
Emphatically. Moyers scored four goals, three of them before halftime as Albemarle blew past Charlottesville 6-1 in the Patriots’ season opener. The Virginia Tech signee showcased his rare combination of relentlessness and creativity throughout, scoring all four goals in different ways ranging from a fluky volley less than two minutes into the game to a fastbreak finish for this third goal.
Perhaps the Patriots’ finest sequence came when senior goalie Jake Gelnovatch made a tremendous double save midway through the first half and the Patriots quickly went on the counter attack. Kevin Jacobson then pushed the ball ahead to Moyers, who finished just seconds after Gelnovatch’s stop.
Albemarle also got a slick goal from Griffin Coffey who headed in a high, rainbow of a cross by Brandon Mahon that put the Patriots up 2-0.
Charlottesville, by contrast, struggled to piece together chances, which had a lot to do with how the Patriots were playing defensively and Albemarle’s early lead.
“To finish our first two shots at CHS’s field that’s something that doesn’t always happen,” Balnave said. “Then we kind of kept the pedal to the metal a little bit. I think we were fortunate, things bounced our way tonight.”
The Black Knights finally broke through with a penalty kick in the second half, but other than that it was tough sledding against the Patriots who controlled possession throughout. The Patriots are particularly deep this season with an array of talent coming off that bench that’s perfectly capable of playing big-time soccer.
“We try and talk to the boys so they’re prepared and understand who’s going to play when and everybody knows their role,” Balnave said. “That’s kind of the work that’s being done now. I thought tonight was a dream start.”
Arslan Kadirov had the Patriots’ sixth goal, blasting in a penalty kick during the second half.
Albemarle will take on Atlee at 7 p.m. Friday night on the road.
