In a chippy, physical battle, Western Albemarle’s boys soccer squad could have lost its cool. When they missed several scoring chances in the first half, they could’ve gotten frustrated.
But the Warriors didn’t come apart, and Jefferson District player of the year Forrest White unleashed a 50-yard pass into space that allowed Jake Lee to run it down and knock the ball in for a second half goal that sparked Western to a 2-0 victory in the Region II quarterfinals Tuesday night.
“I just saw Jake alone and I know he’s fast,” White said. “Once we got up I thought we pretty much had the game.”
Western stayed the course against a Loudoun County team that was packing it in on defense throughout the game while using just a single striker up top. The formation made things tough on Western who plays a more fluid, aggressive style, but White’s pass changed the complexion of the game.
“It was a good touch—Forrest has got a great sense of the amount of pace to put on the ball,” said Western coach Paul Rittenhouse. “He has great vision and it was a really good touch.”
Just a few short minutes later, Harris Tolber banged in a rebound from point-blank range against the Raiders and Western had the upper hand, holding Loudoun at bay down the stretch.
“We got in a bunch (in the first half) and we didn’t score and I think that kind of frustrated our guys,” Rittenhouse said. “We seemed to play a lot looser when we finally got that goal.”
Aidan Barkley controlled things defensively for the Warriors, who had to wait through a two-hour inclement weather delay before the game got going. Barkley marked Loudoun’s Jon Mackey throughout the contest.
“I thought Aidan did a great job turning him back,” Rittenhouse said. “He was just rock solid in the back all night long.”
Loudoun County goalie Taylor Jacobs went down with what appeared to be a significant injury in the second half, leaving backup keeper Alex Guidry to handle the job in goal. Guidry made a pair of incredible stops before Western broke through against the reserve keeper.
The Warriors’ victory puts them a win away from a berth in the Group AA state tournament.
