Stories

No bragging rights?

During the first half, Albemarle and Western Albemarle’s girls soccer match looked like a typical season opener — choppy, broken play without a whole lot of rhythm and no scoring.

But that changed in the second half, with both teams capitalizing on key chances to the tune of a 2-2 deadlock that double overtime couldn’t solve, leaving two teams that share a lot of players who play club soccer together without anything to boast about as the year moves on.

“Nobody can go ‘Ah-ha’,” said Albemarle coach Jon Hall. “The bragging rights kind of went (out the window).”

It’s also the only shot they’ll get at each other. Albemarle’s jampacked district slate saw to that. The Patriots start district play next week, with their only other battle against a local foe coming this week.

A flurry of goals swung the game’s momentum back and forth in the final six minutes, with Albemarle grabbing a 2-1 advantage on a Lauren Thomas goal off a Maggie Willis assist that Warriors goalie Lexi Eckerle got a hand on but couldn’t push aside. The score with 5:06 left seemed to put Albemarle in complete control, but a lack of practice time this early in the season came into play in a big way.

“We haven’t been outside long enough to do certain things and one of them is covering set pieces,” Hall said. “We’re talking about it, but it’s not the same as marking up and taking a step up.”

The Patriots also couldn’t account for Western’s L.P. Desch’s big-play ability. Desch, who had a knack for coming up in the clutch during field hockey season, knocked home a goal with 2:10 to play, connecting after a long ball from outside the box.

“She always does (come up with the big play) for some magical reason,” said Western coach Lesly Gourdet. “She set the tone early too.”

But the equalizer didn’t come without a little bit of controversy. Albemarle protested the goal, claiming that Western was offside, and a Western forward did appear to be behind the Patriots’ defense. The referee, however, ruled that the Western forward in offsides position didn’t touch the ball, and Desch came from the pack to finish off the play.

Albemarle struck first early in the second half with a Maggie Tubridy goal off Willis’ other assist. The Patriots almost took a 2-1 lead before the Thomas goal when Lauren Brady just missed a well-timed header that careened off the crossbar midway through the second half. That play gave Hall all the indication he needed that things are going to go just fine for the Patriots, who have a solid mix of senior leadership, some young talent and an experienced junior class including Brady.

“(Brady) made about a 35-yard run to get into position to do that,” Hall said. “When you see the kids work that hard and you see how energetic they are you can’t help but think that you’re going to have some good things down the road.”

Abby Mathes anchored the Patriots at center-midfield, playing almost the entire game at the spot, a challenging role for the sophomore. Albemarle’s Taylor Hale, who was hampered by an injury, should be a key cog for Albemarle as the Patriots move through their Commonwealth schedule.

Western answered the Patriots’ goal on another set piece when freshman Kamila Setaro blasted a corner kick through the pack and found Kelly Abrams, who evened the score at 1-1. Setaro was one of three freshmen to start for the Warriors in the season opener, and according to Gourdet, they’ve earned their spots.

“They deserve it, you see them developing their talent bit by bit,” Gourdet said. “We want to see them in there so we can see them fight and they responded really well.”

Albemarle faces Monticello High Friday at 6:30 p.m. before diving right into Commonwealth District play. Western has a short break hitting the field again March 26 against Louisa County.

Comments

comments