Western Albemarle’s girls soccer team enveloped freshman Ellie Cox.
“It’s super exciting having all your teammates come and hug you so big, bigger than you’ve ever been hugged in your life basically,” Cox said. “Literally five minutes after it I was like I don’t even know if that actually happened or if I was dreaming or something.”
With a flick of her foot to create space and a well-placed shot to the near post that followed, Cox scored what held up as the game-winner with 20 minutes to play in a 1-0 Western Albemarle win over archrival Albemarle in the second meeting of the defending state Class 3 and Class 5 state champions.
“I was standing in between two defenders and Abby (Zimmerman) passed it to me from close to the other side,” Cox said. “I took a touch in between the defenders and then hit it.”
It was an incredible moment in a predictably tense, back-and-forth game in a rivalry that delivers in seemingly every incarnation. Last year, Albemarle won twice including one game in a veritable monsoon en route to its state title while Western managed to win a state title but had to push aside two tough losses to the Patriots to do it.
“This is my first year so I haven’t really experienced how good Albemarle is but they’re very, very good,” Cox said. “I know from my teammates this is a really big accomplishment and I’m just proud we all got to be here and experience it.”
While Western picked up the win, both teams should draw some particular benefit from playing a game of this quality just ahead of the postseason. The Patriots will jump right into the postseason Thursday in Class 5, Region D while Western faces Fluvanna County on the road Monday before Class 3, Region C play starts.
“This being the last regular season and playing a great team like Western we wanted to create that postseason mentality and atmosphere and we got it,” said Albemarle coach Amy Sherrill. “We didn’t finish on a few of our opportunities and they knocked one home but that’s okay. One chapter closes and another one opens on Thursday. Hopefully it adds more fuel to our fire and we’ll be playing in June.”
The closing minutes of the game were particularly intense with Albemarle turning up the offensive pressure and creating a number of close chances with Western’s defense playing a little on its heels. Fizzy Gonzalez and Katie Schnell made a series of hard-nosed runs that nearly turned into goals, but Western’s defense kept coming up with stops to preserve the shutout. The game reached a fever pitch late with Western coach Jake Desch drawing a red card after trying to discuss a call with the lead official.
But in the end, Western prevailed and locked up the squad’s first Jefferson District title since Albemarle entered the district in 2014. Bailey Wood finished with a shutout in net for the Warriors.
“During practices, our coaches have been saying we haven’t beaten them all the way yet,” said Western senior Shannon Moore. “Being able to beat them for the second time feels so nice because in all of my years playing them we’ve lost five, won two and tied one. In all of my younger years we’ve taken a lot of beatings so it’s really nice to come out on top.”
