Albemarle coach Brittany McElheny was quick to admit that it should probably be the plan every game, but the Patriots came out with the intention to score early. To attack from the start.
“That was actually our game plan, to score in the first five minutes,” McElheny said. “They’ve executed it both times this week. They scored in under two minutes against Charlottesville and under five minutes (tonight). If we can do that it starts the momentum on our side and we can keep it.”
The Patriots executed that plan as well as anyone could hope, with Anna Murray scoring just minutes into the game off a Morgan Stilley assist as Albemarle put Western Albemarle on its heels en route to a 2-0 victory at home Thursday night.
That attacking mentality gave Albemarle exactly the spark they needed and they jumped on Western again in the second half, with Stilley breaking through this time on a Kathryn Mayo assist. Quite suddenly, Albemarle was up 2-0 on the Warriors and in complete control.
“It’s really good when we can attack the whole time because then it’s not on our side the whole time and they don’t have many opportunities,” Stilley said. “I think we did a good job with our game plan.”
The Patriots’ maintained possession nicely behind that attacking style, with Western managing just two total shots on the night. Albemarle only had four shots of their own in a game that was largely settled in the midfield, with both teams battling throughout.
Western struggled at times to contain the Patriots’ speed, including the counterattack that led to Stilley’s goal. Albemarle’s Nyla Lewis was particularly dominant in the midfield, forcing the Warriors to adjust around her.
“I thought we played them quite well, especially in the second half,” said Western coach Milo Oakland. “(Lewis) is good, she gets her stick on everything, she moves her body, she reads the game before it happens. She’s got a smart defensive mind and we had to find ways to attack around the center of the field and when we did that we found some success.”
Western played without center midfielder Madison Masloff, who was sick, and Masloff has emerged as a critical part of the puzzle for the Warriors. Without her in the lineup, the Warriors couldn’t counter the Patriots as well as they’d hoped.
“We were trying to play more of a counter attack style and we figured it out, we kind of got it to work in the second half,” Oakland said.
Lexi Snider finished with two saves for the Patriots in the cage and prevented several other potential goals by stepping out and staying active around the cage.
Western will take on Charlottesville Tuesday on the road while Albemarle travels to Monticello.
