Albemarle girls lacrosse’s dynamic offense can pile goals up quickly. But it was the Patriots’ defense that closed the door on Monticello Tuesday night.
“Caroline (Sheppard, Albemarle’s goalie) had a couple of good saves and that got us fired up, the defense started moving, sliding and talking,” said Albemarle coach Lauren Thraves.
The Patriots held the Mustangs scoreless during the second half to pick up a 13-6 win after entering halftime locked up at 6-6. That’s a particularly impressive effort against a Monticello offense that can also score in bunches, especially when star Summer Larese gets going. The Patriots tried to clamp down on the Mustangs’ leader by face-guarding her with senior Gwen Pattison, who proved up to the task,containing Larese much of the night.
Over the last 11 minutes of the game, the Patriots went scoreless themselves as they looked to milk the clock and Monticello tightened things up defensively. That opened the door for a potential rally by the Mustangs, but Albemarle’s defense forced turnover after turnover down the stretch to stop the Mustangs.
“Bridget (Pinnata) had a couple of really good stops and I think that fueled us too,” Thraves said. “That was a great second half. The second half was totally different.”
Kelsey Myers finished with a hat trick for the Patriots offensively while Jenn Wendelken and Morgan Rose scored two goals each. After that trio, the entire roster seemed to get into the mix as Lindsey Earles, Sarah Hanssen, Brittany Cramer, Lizzy Chapman, Pattison and Angie Chapman each scored a goal. Wendelken led the Patriots with four draw controls.
Sheppard made seven saves in the cage for the Patriots.
For the Mustangs, Paige McGlothlin notched a hat trick while Larese, Evie Maxwell and Josie Mallory had a goal each. Carly Harris made 13 saves while facing a barrage of 27 shots from the Patriots.
The Patriots will take on STAB Friday in a big private-public clash Friday at 5 p.m. while Monticello will try and bounce back with another challenging matchup with Western Albemarle Friday at 5:30 p.m.
