There were two quick starts to two halves, only one of which went the distance because of lightning. The Albemarle boys soccer team avenged its lone loss of the year, one that came against Western Albemarle just nine days prior by beating the previously unbeaten Warriors 2-0 in a game that the Patriots controlled for most of the contest.
“I think we came out with great intensity,” said Albemarle coach Jeff Balnave. “We were disappointed after the first game but that’s a great team and they are well coached. Still, we feel like we’re the best team in the area and we had to come out here and try and prove it. I think the boys came out playing hard and did the right things to set the tone to start both halves.”
Just eight minutes into the first half, the Patriots earned a free kick from 35 yards out in the middle of the field. Matt Balcells dropped placed the ball perfectly just in front of the right side of the goal for Grant Kersey who delivered an equally perfect header into the back of the net.
“I knew Matt was going to put a good ball there, go to the backside so I tried to read the defense,” Kersey said. “I saw a little bit of a gap and then ball was just floating so you’re just waiting to attack and once it was close I was able to punch it in. I don’t know if it rebooted our confidence or if we just came in knowing we could do that, but in the end it was just Albemarle soccer. We came out firing. Ever since last week we knew were going to get them again soon and the day was finally here.”
Up 1-0, Albemarle controlled the pace of the game keeping Western without a shot until the last minutes of the first. The Patriots outshot the Warriors 4-1 and held the Warriors to just one corner kick in the frame.
The second half started with a bang for Albemarle as Brandon Moyers scored in the first minute of play off a pass from Sergio Cardona. Moyers shook off the defense with a juke and buried the shot to make it 2-0 game.
“That was crazy,” Moyers said. “We were prepared coming out in the second half and going all out to get some more goals. Sergio played a beautiful ball over the top of some defenders and it came perfectly to my feet and I was able to slide it to the left side of the goal.”
The goal actually sparked the best effort offensively from the Warriors. For the next three minutes, Western put solid pressure on a confident Albemarle defense. A free kick from Jed Strickland. The Warriors got a few chances following the play, including a cross-bar shot with 35 minutes to go.
“Michael Vaughn, our center-back did a great job,” Balnave said. “We tried to double (Western’s) Aiden Sinclair because he’s a great player, one you want to make sure is moving back instead of getting a head a steam — when he does that, he’s hard to stop. I think Jake Gelnovatch is doing a great job of talking as a goalie, organizing our defense. We didn’t give them too many seams.”
However, Albemarle weathered that storm and was able to recover and reassert itself winning 50-50 balls at midfield and letting Moyers continue to apply offensive pressure. Moyers rifled a shot on a breakaway midway through the second but Jonathan Whyte dove and made a spectacular save to keep things at 2-0.
With 11:25 left though, the game reached its ultimate conclusion as a thunderstorm rolled in and ended things prematurely — a fitting end for a game that was supposed to be played Monday at Albemarle but moved to Tuesday at Monticello because of weather and a scheduling conflict. The loss was Western’s first as they stand at 8-1-3 now. Albemarle improves to 10-1 on the year.
Western travels to Charlottesville on Thursday at 7 p.m. Albemarle hosts Monticello on Thursday at 7:15 p.m.
