After the Western Albemarle girls lacrosse team outlasted one Jefferson District foe in the Charlottesville Conference title game, the Warriors’ boys team had a much easier go of it against another JD opponent to take home the crown.
Carter Elliott led five Warriors with multiple goals by registering six, while Luke Reilly had five and James Buetow added four. WAHS used a 5-0 spurt over a five-and-a-half minute stretch in the second quarter capped by Elliott’s man-up goal to give Western a 13-5 lead two minutes before halftime. This came after a pair of goals from Charlottesville’s Nick Pahuta pulled the Black Knights to within three to open the period. Pahuta’s four goals led the way for CHS.
Western continued to pour it on offensively in the second half, scoring five of the first six goals after the break to open up a comfortable lead. Buetow had two of his four goals during the stretch, while Reilly and Elliott registered extra-man goals. For the game, the Warriors went 3-of-4 on man-up opportunities.
“We had a good go tonight,” Western coach Alex Whitten said. “We shot the ball really well offensively, controlled the faceoffs, and it was a great effort all around.”
The Warriors outshot Charlottesville 26-18 on the night and while the Knights registered a respectable offensive showing, CHS failed to capitalize on its extra-man opportunities, going just 1-for-5 for the game. Jackson Sours registered eight saves for WAHS before being replaced in the fourth quarter by Harrison McGrady.
“We’re excited that we got some guys off the bench to get some playing time against good competition,” Whitten said. “This is the time of year when you need to use depth to win.”
Charlottesville also got solid offensive contribution from Thomas Stadler and Ephraim Antwi, who registered three and two goals, respectively. For the Warriors, Jack Loffredo and Jarrett Smith each had a pair of goals.
“Charlottesville is good,” Whitten said. “They put up 10 goals on us both times we’ve played them, they moved the ball around really well tonight. We knew we were going to need to be really sharp on offense tonight in order to win, and we did that.”
With the win, Western earned a home game in the first round of regional competition on Thursday, while Charlottesville will go on the road, also on Thursday.
