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Western girls lacrosse edges Monticello in overtime barnburner

Photo by Ashley Thornton

Sometime late in the second half of the Charlottesville Conference girls lacrosse title game, Western Albemarle midfielder Sammie Magargee took a stick to the face, causing a nosebleed and requiring Magargee to change from her customary No. 3 jersey into No. 16.

 

That change nor the nosebleed slowed her down as Magargee was able to get away from the Monticello defense 10 seconds into the third overtime and bag the game-winning goal, giving Western a 15-14 win and guaranteeing the Warriors a home game in the regional semifinals.

 

“This really gives us some momentum heading into regionals,” Magargee said. “We get to play at home, not having to travel is always nice.”

 

Magargee’s goal came after two previous scoreless overtime periods, a somewhat curious scenario considering nearly every time a shot in regulation came close to the net, it went in. Western scored its 15 goals on 19 shots on goal, while Monticello was 14 of 19.

 

Western overcame several blown leads and a Herculean effort from Monticello senior Summer Larese, who tallied a game-high eight goals, including five in a row spanning the halves to turn a 9-4 deficit into a 9-9 tie with 20 minutes remaining in the game.

 

“She’s a beast,” Western coach Tara Hohenshelt said of Larese. “That’s something we expected out of her. With her, the game plan is never to completely stop her, because we know that won’t happen. It’s to try and limit her effectiveness.”

 

The Warriors responded with goals from Bella Moriconi, Hannah Plantz and Joie Funk, but Monticello once again tied the game thanks to three more goals from Larese, the last of which came with 6:26 to play.

 

As many times as they got off the mat, the Mustangs never managed to forge ahead the entire game. Western got two goals in a span of 30 seconds from Hanna Schuler and Kira Repich, the latter of whom was Western’s leading scorer with five goals. But Monticello would not go away, and Kendall Walin’s goal with 13 seconds remaining sent it into overtime.

 

Both teams had opportunities in the first two overtime periods, with each team holding the ball to look for a decent shot. Larese had a chance to end the game for the Mustangs, but Western goalie Ava Divita made a great stop, one of her five saves on the night. That set up Magargee’s heroics in the third extra session, and the senior middie was the only player to touch the ball in that period

 

“My coach said ‘go out there and get the draw,’ and when I saw the open net, I just went in,” Magargee said. “Maybe having to change numbers brought me luck.”

 

Early on, it looked like it would be all Western. After the teams exchanged goals to open the game, WAHS went on a 6-0 run which included four of Repich’s five goals. In addition to her output, the Warriors got three goals from Magargee and two from Schuler.

 

But the Mustangs staged their first comeback in the last six minutes of the half, outscoring Western 5-2 over that span to make the score look better heading into the break at 9-6.

 

“That game was crazy,” Hohenshelt said. “It was crazy. Credit to Monticello for being down and coming back so many times. If you were to write a script for the perfect conference championship game, this was it.”

 

WAHS opens regional play on Thursday with a home game, while Monticello will go on the road for its first game the same night. Both opponents have yet to be determined. 

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