To this point in the season, Charlottesville girls soccer was responsible for Albemarle’s only result that wasn’t a win, having played the Patriots to a 1-1 draw on April 10.
The Black Knights came out confident in Monday’s rematch, firing three shots in the first two minutes on the AHS net. Keeper Jaya Daniel was equal to each challenge.
Then the Patriots’ attack broke the Knights.
Megan Schantz, Avery Dougald and Kora Jillions poured in first-half goals and Albemarle built a three-goal lead en route to a 4-0 victory. With the win, AHS has now defeated every team in the Jefferson District.
“The tie earlier in the season motivated us. Charlottesville is a very talented team so we knew we had to come out and get them on their heels early,” said Albemarle coach Amy Sherrill. “We were able to get a goal early to set the tone.”
In the 12th minute, Schantz snuck behind a Charlottesville defender in the box and tapped a thru-ball from Lauren MacDonald past Knights keeper Adria Cafferillo for a 1-0 advantage.
Dougald doubled the advantage off a rebound in the 22nd minute, and Jillions buried one in the 33rd off a Charlottesville turnover for a 3-0 lead going into halftime.
“Having that chip-on-our-shoulder mentality from the last game helped us, and we wanted to work past that,” Albemarle midfielder Savannah Alexander said. “I think hyping each other up, having each other’s back, telling each other to get back was key to our defense.”
The Albemarle defense took over in the second half, limiting Charlottesville to just one shot on goal in the final 40 minutes. In the 63rd minute, Ashley Snider scored the final goal out of a crowd in front of the net.
“We’ve been talking about being relentless, and we showed that on offense tonight,” Sherrill said.
Albemarle held a 12-6 advantage in shots while Daniel and Sydney Alexander combined for the clean sheet with six saves between them. Cafferillo had eight for the Black Knights.
The Patriots will next host Fluvanna County, while Charlottesville will travel to Western Albemarle.
