If there was anyone left who didn’t think the Jefferson District girls soccer race was packed with contenders and wide open, Monticello dispelled that notion Thursday night.
Coming off a one-goal loss to Charlottesville Monday, the Mustangs bounced back and knocked off Western Albemarle 2-1 on the road, giving every Jefferson District squad at least one loss just two or three games into the district’s round robin.
The Mustangs surrendered an early goal to Western when Sarah Duska connected for an early score, but from there Monticello controlled the pace and possession.
“We were really impressed with the first half, we worked the ball so well,” said Monticello coach Paul Burrows. “We two-touched and three-touched all over the field we didn’t even have to make a substitution in that half. I think we lost our momentum a bit in the second half but our defensive effort was superb.”
The Mustangs broke through late in the first half win Cary Wingo unleashed a blast from 15 yards out.
“You won’t see a professional player hit the ball better running at full speed and volleying it from 15 yards out to the top corner,” Burrows said. “That’s just great stuff.”
That evened the match and the Mustangs’ defense continued to stand strong, repelling runs by Western’s Rachel Cook, Marina Clark and No. 8 during the second half as the gay took on a more up-and-down feel. The offense finally broke through after an Ellie Linkous blast on a corner kick bounced off a couple of players and trickled into the Western goal.
“They were able to establish the kind of tempo that they wanted to play and we couldn’t do anything,” said Western coach Jacob Desch. “We had a great goal in the first five and then after that it was all Monticello.”
Western, down a couple of starters, couldn’t find an answer for the Mustangs’ midfield play throughout the contest. The Warriors are now staring down a four game lineup over a seven-day stretch against Powhatan, Fluvanna, Handley and Charlottesville starting Monday.
Monticello will try and keep its momentum going against Fluvanna County next week.
