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Four Straight: Albemarle girls soccer wins another Conference 16 title

Photo by Luke Nadkarni

The fact that it had already advanced to the Region 5A North tournament wasn’t enough for the Albemarle girls soccer team  — the Patriots knew Friday night was a critical part of their mission this season.

 

The Patriots controlled Friday’s Conference 16 final against visiting Atlee, getting goals from three different players in a 5-0 rout to earn a first-round bye and a home game in next week’s tournament, setting them up for the most manageable run in a challenging region tournament.

 

In the early stages, the Patriots threatened to blow the game open. Barely 10 minutes in, they had one shot go just over the crossbar and another go directly off of it in the span of a minute.

 

Then in the 18th, Fizzy Gonzalez broke the door down. She, made it look easy, taking a lob from Leticia Freitas around 25 yards out, lulled Atlee goalie Katie Pierson to sleep, then calmly found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.

 

“We had watched Atlee before, we knew what to expect,” Albemarle coach Amy Sherrill said. “They’re a good team. Our girls were dialed in tonight. We couldn’t have asked for a better result.”

 

Realistically, the visiting Raiders were lucky they weren’t down by more at halftime. In the 25th minute, Albemarle’s Katie Schnell buried a header to apparently double the lead, but the goal was disallowed because it was ruled that Schnell had fouled Pierson. Nearly all of the half was spent in front of the Atlee goal, with Albemarle registering nine shots and eight corners to none for the Raiders in the half, yet the score remained just 1-0 at the half.

 

“Those kinds of things are going to happen,” Sherrill said. “The key is to mentally play through that and respond. Shots are going to go off the crossbar.”

 

That changed quickly in the second half. After Atlee nearly equalized it by putting two shots just over the crossbar in the first minute of the second half, Gonzalez broke free again and registered her second of the game to finally give the Patriots some insurance in the 43rd minute.

 

The flurry wasn’t done. The Patriots attacked again, drawing a penalty kick and this time Brooke Bauman did the honors to make it 3-0 five minutes into the second half.

 

The lead expanded to 4-0 in the 64th minute when Schnell finally got herself on the board, cleaning up the mess after a Pierson stop on a shot by Paige Horn. Then with 10 minutes remaining, Freitas got herself another assist when she found Savannah Alexander and the freshman finished to put the icing on the cake for the Patriots.

 

Albemarle completely dominated all facets of the game, outshooting Atlee 24-4. Pierson registered 10 saves for Atlee, being kept busy all night by the Patriots’ assault. Albemarle held a 12-2 advantage in corners.

 

It marked four straight conference titles for AHS, meaning its senior class goes out with a trophy in every season.

 

“Some of those teams you see in regionals are on another level,” Sherrill said. “We’re looking forward to it. We know that bye will give us some extra help.”

 

The Patriots will play again on Thursday against an opponent to be determined.

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