Nothing went right for Western Albemarle’s boys lacrosse team out of the gate against Midlothian as the Warriors’ fell into a 3-0 hole in the Region 4A South quarterfinals.
“Those first three goals are all on me, I wasn’t seeing the ball well,” said Western goalie Jackson Sours.
But everything after that went exactly according to plan. Western rolled to a 13-6 win, holding Midlothian to just three goals outside the first quarter.
“The whole defensive talk was up, yesterday we were emphasizing…making sure our slide was there,” said Sours, who finished with 11 saves on the night. “Tonight our slide was going really early and we were forcing turnovers.”
With the defense dialed in, John Carr Haden made that effort count with an explosive offensive effort, scoring five goals on just six shots in a near-flawless performance by the sophomore. Haden has turned things up to another level for the Warriors, giving them another dynamic offensive option as the competition gets tougher.
“He had a tremendous game against Albemarle but he has started to really step up toward the end of the season,” said Western coach Alex Whitten.
Haden’s performance was exactly the jolt Western needed as they tried get locked in after the early stumble. Western’s players kicked into gear on their own without a great deal of input or adjustments from Whitten.
“When you see this team go, and they went on that run it had very little to do with coaching, it has to do with the kids,” Whitten said. “I think at a point you have to trust in the system and trust in the kids and they have to perform.”
The game featured the return of two-way impact player Oliver Herndon, the longstick midfielder who is a lockdown defender and a major offensive weapon. He’s been out since late in the regular season with an injury, but worked back into the lineup against Midlothian. He scored once on the night.
Carter Elliott finished with a hat trick for Western while James Buetow, Luke Reilly and Trevor Perisco had a goal each. Ryan Albee scored once for Western in the second quarter.
“Ryan Albee had a big goal, he had a great take,” Whitten said.
Western advances to the Region 4A South semifinals. They’ll play Monday in Salem.
