Albemarle boys soccer senior Jordan Parks was trying to cross the ball, but what ensued was one of the most exciting accidents of the Patriots’ season.
“I was trying to play a ball on the ground to Eliya (Budugure) who was open but I kind of got tangled up with the guy who was guarding me,” Parks said. ”I kind of chipped it over the goalie and it went in.”
The goal with 22:33 left to play stood up as the game-winner, lifting Albemarle to a 2-1 victory over Falls Church in the Region 5A North championship game at Monticello High Friday night. The Patriots were tremendous down the stretch at largely limiting Falls Church’s chances and not putting a lot of pressure on Jake Gelnovatch in net. Gelnovatch only had to make four saves to secure the win.
“When we got the second goal, it was all about keeping the lead and closing out the game,” Parks said.
Albemarle managed that mostly by staying on the attack, creating runs and chances repeatedly that didn’t always end in shots but certainly put the Jaguars on their heels. Controlling possession seemed to change everything for the Patriots.
“We were able to keep the ball a little more which helped us out a lot and we were going in a lot harder on tackles,” Parks said. “We needed to match their intensity which is pretty important.”
There was a point in the game late in the first half where the Patriots did appear to be on the verge of unraveling for a short moment. Falls Church had just equalized on a Jorge Borrayo Mendez, and Albemarle was struggling to get locked back in.
“It was an emotional game, a really physical game and I think we kind of got caught up in the wrong sorts of ideas,” said Albemarle coach Jeff Balnave. “We were worried about the refs, we we were worried about the other team. Eventually as a team we figured it out.”
It helped that the Patriots’ leadership took over in that moment to steady the ship. It’s an advantage that only a team with the kind of veterans Albemarle has enjoys, the ability to turn to players who have been through a lot of battles over the years.
“Our captains did a great job of talking and Jordan was setting the tone defensively, just going in really hard on challenges and winning balls for us,” Balnave said.
The Patriots’ first goal came on a Brandon Mahon score off a Brendan Moyers feed with just under 23 minutes left in the first half.
Albemarle will take the field again in the Group 5A state semifinals at Lake Braddock Friday.
