After an initial surge by Oakton, Western Albemarle found its footing and cut the Cougars’ lead to one goal in the VHSL girls lacrosse state quarterfinal.
Then Carly Palmucci made her presence known.
“She’s amazing and on our scouting report she wasn’t even listed of course,” said Western coach Nancy Haws. “We learned our lesson from the last game and waited to make adjustments but we probably adjusted a little late on that one.”
Palmucci poured in three straight goals to give Oakton some first half breathing room that helped the Cougars hold off a second half Western run to advance into the state semifinals with a 16-13 victory over the Warriors, ending Western’s defense of its 2010 VHSL title.
“She’s been doing that pretty much all season — she’s the most consistent player we have,” said Oakton coach Jean Counts. “She’s really turned it on in the second half of the season with both assists and goals — you don’t know where she’ll be more hurtful on the defense whether it’s her ability to assist or see or go to goal.”
With Palmucci exploding offensively, Western switched lead defender Alora Henry over to cover the Cougars’ gifted junior which helped stem the tide. But the damage was done as Oakton continued to build on the spurt and took a 12-5 lead into the half. Western’s body language slipped as Oakton continued to score seemingly at will during the first, but things quickly changed after the break.
“We said ‘you guys are playing tired because of a scoreboard — there’s nothing different about any other game we’ve ever played, it’s a scoreboard that’s affecting your energy level’,” Haws said.
Slowly the Warriors sliced into Oakton’s lead with a goal by Jeanette Fellows and then two straight goals by Shaffrey that put Western within six goals and forced an Oakton timeout with eight minutes and 38 seconds left in the game. That didn’t slow down the Warriors’ momentum as Shaffrey and Mady Baker managed to score back-to-back goals before another from Shaffrey on an eight-meter restart at 4:22 left in the contest cut Oakton’s advantage to just three.
“Western came out (after the half) very ball-hungry and when you’re ball hungry and go straight to the cage you can gain that momentum,” Counts said. “They never gave up, when they were down by seven they just kept going.”
Her team snapped back into gear over the final few minutes, winning a draw before Palmucci hit fellow junior Kelsey Clarke for an insurance goal with just under a minute to play. Fellows broke back with a score for Western with 39 seconds to play, but it was too little too late for the Warriors as Oakton held strong.
Palmucci finished with five goals and an assist for Oakton while Clarke had four goals and an assist of her own. Shaffrey had six goals and seven draw controls, finishing her career with one her usual strong performances despite often drawing a quick slide or two defenders from Oakton’s defense. She also wrapped her lone season playing alongside her younger sister Bridget Shaffrey, an emerging sophomore star for the Warriors — unless Shaffrey gets her wish.
“She always pushed me harder than anybody else on the team, she’s always tough to go against,” Ellen Shaffrey said. “It’s sad because she was a great player to play with, and so I hope maybe next year she’ll be looking at William and Mary.”
The senior Shaffrey will suit up for the Tribe when she heads to Williamsburg in the fall.
Shaffrey’s fellow senior Fellows, who’s been a rock solid offensive performer over the last two years as part of one of the state’s most prolific scoring units, finished with four goals on the night. Mady Baker and Anna Liebowitz had a pair of goals and assists respectively.
Oakton plays Tuesday in the VHSL semifinals while Western’s season ends.
