Western Albemarle’s girls soccer team asserted itself in the second half, and with a brilliant counter attack, put away Charlottesville with a 2-0 victory in the Jefferson District final.
“I think in the second half, it showed they were the superior team,” said Charlottesville coach Fernando Opere. “I think we played very well in the first half but we got tired and they started to control very well.”
The Warriors built a 1-0 lead in the first half on a late goal by Anna Sumpter. From there, Western’s defense allowed Charlottesville barely a handful of chances in the second half to equalize.
“Charlottesville has improved throughout the season and they were playing with a lot of confidence,” said Western coach Jacob Desch. “We challenged them at halftime to come out stronger and to really work on possession so we don’t have to chase them as much.”
The Black Knights’ best opportunity came on a corner kick when a header careened off the cross bar and back out. That’s when the Western counter attack struck. The Warriors pushed the ball downfield and scored just seconds after the header, with first team All-JD honoree Rachel Cooke finishing off the goal.
“In the playoffs, we’re going to play all tough teams and (we) have to take advantage of the few opportunities that we’ll get,” Desch said. “So to be able to withstand pressure and to bring it back to them is a great feeling going into the playoffs.”
Western’s continued defensive brilliance has made life tough on opposing offenses, and Charlottesville’s unit endured that in the second half in particular.
“That second half we realized that we weren’t doing what we wanted to do up top,” said Western senior Christine Domecq. “So we knew we had to step it up and I think that’s where that superb defense came from that second half. We came together and knew this was our time to shine.”
Sumpter’s play on both ends drew high praise from Opere as well. The first team All-Jefferson selection as a freshman has been impressive.
“They have this freshman who is out of the sky,” Opere said. “This girl is going to be…you’ll see.”
The Warriors fell in the tournament final last year to the Black Knights, so the win completed a much-desired sweep of the JD titles for a Western senior class that’s helped power the squad to the top of the Jefferson. It gives members of that group that wre on the varsity as freshmen bookend titles as well, as the Warriors managed a tournament title back in the spring of 2010 on penalty kicks.
An injury to Althea Pickering suffered in the second half that appeared severe will likely put two of the Black Knights’ top players on the sideline for the Region II playoffs next week. Mary Hemmenway has been out with an injury for some time now.
Western will host either Woodgrove or Loudoun County in Region II next week while Charlottesville will hit the road for its Region II clash.
