Albemarle jumped out to start and then Charlottesville found a rhythm between the first and second half. But with the Patriots steadily winning the ground ball battles and piling up possessions, the top seed the in the West Central Division tournament was able to keep the Black Knights at bay to secure an 15-8 semifinal win.
“It came down to increasing the intensity and getting back into the flow of the game for us,” said Albemarle coach Laurie Pratt. “We played a little slow but then in the second half we picked it up. That’s the game that we intend the play well and I think we did that as the game went on.”
The Patriots wasted little time racing out to a 4-0 lead behind the offense from Kirsten Mendelsohn, Kirsten Smith and Anna Smith. Connor Carson got the Patriots off on the right foot to start the second half, but things swung Charlottesville’s way with Kendall Ballard, Jayme Kusyk and Ellie Barber answering the call from a stretch at the end of the first into the beginning of the second to make it an 8-6 contest.
“There we were able to make some good stops on defense and get in transition,” said Charlottesville coach Lauren Smith. “We had good patient plays on attack. We had a few more stops and put a couple more in and then I think we just ran out of gas. We’re still down two starters and two subs, so depth was a problem.”
Carson, Ryann Murray and Hanna Shaps owned the rest of the contest though with Albemarle netting seven of the last nine goals to build up a hefty lead and sit on it. By the end of the game the Patriots finished ahead 37-13 in the shot department.
“Once we got to the second half and did our own thing to pump ourselves up we kicked it off and played our game,” Carson said. “We weren’t playing our game early, so it was fun after that. (Playing in the playoffs now) it’s really exciting because we have the potential to go as far as we want. If we come in Thursday, we can play either (Monicello or Western Albemarle) we just have to play our game.”
Despite being heavily defended and held scoreless in the first half, Carson led the way with four goals. Mendelsohn had three goals and three assists. Shaps also had a hat trick. Murray put in a pair of goals and a pair of assists. Goalkeeper Kelsey Rund had seven saves.
For Charlottesville, Ballard was the top scorer on the night with five goals. Kusyk had two goals. Michael Foky led the passing attack with two assists. Maddy Eure stopped nine shots in net.
The Black Knights will play whoever falls in the West Central Division semifinals today between Western Albemarle and Monticello in the consolation game. The Patriots will square off against the winner of the semifinal game in the championship.
