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Locked In: Albemarle hockey beats Charlottesville to wrap big week

Photo by Bart Isley

When Albemarle field hockey’s Amanda Warlick takes off in the midfield, if she picks up a head of steam, her speed changes things for the Patriots.

 

“We call Amanda our bulldozer in the most loving way possible,” said Albemarle coach Brittany McElheny said. “She doesn’t stop, there’s no off switch. It just creates so much offense and so much energy for us.”

 

Warlick’s aggressive approach helped create a number of chances for the Patriots all night. Caroline Jones and Julia Bianchetto helped Albemarle make good on those opportunities as the Patriots picked up a 3-0 win over Charlottesville. 

 

The win wrapped up a monster week for the Patriots, who beat Western Albemarle on the road Tuesday. When combined with the win over Charlottesville, this week puts the Patriots in the driver’s seat for the Jefferson District title. 

 

“It’s really exciting, we have a lot to work on so this is good momentum going into the future,” said Albemarle senior defender Kristen Hughlett. 

 

Hughlett helped lead an Albemarle defense that shut down a speedy Charlottesville attack, hemming in the Black Knights while helping kickstart the offenses with quick outlets into the midfield.

 

“I think we just had to stay in our zone and step up on defense and recover quickly,” Hughlett said.

 

Those quick outlets led to opportunities that created Jones’ first of two goals in the first half. Jones did some of the dirty work herself, getting the ball into the attacking zone out of the midfield. 

 

“I was able to get it downfield and then my teammate Liz Yow passed it into the middle and I just hit it in,” Jones said.

 

Jones tacked on a second goal midway through the second half and then Bianchetto made it 3-0 Patriots with a little more than nine minutes to play. Claire Boyer and Liz Yow picked up assists while Morgan Coleman and Olivia Reid had six saves combined in the cage. That was more than enough offense and stops for Albemarle. 

 

“Our midfield is keeping it in — Courtney Hughlett is keeping it in there,” McElheny said. “Amanda and Caroline Jones are just creating shots on shots on shots. (Amanda) has given us that scrappy, aggressive edge that we haven’t had before.”

 

Charlottesville has faced a tough stretch, losing to Western last week before beating Monticello Tuesday and following it with the Thursday loss to Albemarle. The Black Knights are learning a lot about themselves while trying to create more offensive chances. 

 

“It’s fun to play teams like this that really challenge us, really make us dig deep and think about how we can get better,” said Charlottesville coach Stephanie Tharp. “We tried a different formation tonight trying to be more offensive thinking, a lot of credit to Albemarle for the way they came out, their passes were right to each other and always tackling back.”

 

The Patriots will host Louisa County Tuesday while Charlottesville welcomes Courtland to town on Monday. 

 

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