Western Albemarle senior Ellie Allen has been a major factor for the Warriors since 2012 when she contributed to a talented Western squad as just a freshman.
That’s a lot of games on the Western turf, and she was determined to make sure she remembered her final regular season game fondly.
“I just wanted to win and make the most out of my time in my last game here,” Allen said. “I wanted to fight.”
She fought throughout and helped Western turn the tide by scoring four goals as the Warriors ground out a tough 9-7 victory against cross-county rival Albemarle. Western, who’ve made significant strides in cutting down on turnovers and moving the ball better through the flow of the offense, handled the ball well down the stretch while scoring the final two goals of the game after Albemarle tied things up at 7-7 with a little more than nine minutes to play.
“It’s gotten so much better, at the beginning of the season (limiting turnovers) was a real struggle for us and now we’re able to posses the ball for long amounts of time,” Allen said. “Our sticks skills have really improved.”
The game became a defensive struggle in large part because Hamilton Ibbeken and Haley Williamson turned in brilliant performances in the cage, with Williams saving 12 shots while Ibbeken posted 11 stops. Western led 6-4 at the break, but the scoring slowed in the second half as both defenses stepped up.
Sammie Magargee posted a pair of goals for the Warriors while Hanna Schuler posted a goal and an assist. Hannah Plantz and Julia Wood each scored a goal to round out the offensive production while Audrey Russell dished out two assists.
For Albemarle Julia Hartman had two goals and an assist and Jenna Wendelken had two goals as well.
The six-game round robin regular season series that’s developed this year between Monticello, Western and Albemarle seems poised to have a sort of iron-sharpens-iron impact on all three squads, something that’s not lost on the Warriors.
“I think it helps us prepare so much better for the postseason because we’re playing really good competition,” Allen said. “That’s getting us ready for the better teams we’re going to face.”
Western moves to 6-4 on the year with the win and they’ll look to keep things going against Broad Run Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Albemarle will look to get back on track Wednesday against Fluvanna County.
