Yellow Jackets end Pats’ dream season

Osbourn Park coach Larry Nemerow smiled like a proud papa as he spoke about his team’s 1-0 victory against Albemarle.
In particular, Nemerow singled out senior midfielder Eric Wooten, who scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime period to lift the Yellow Jackets (14-3-2) past the Patriots (19-1) during Monday’s Northwest Region quarterfinals.
“The kid that scored is one of the best citizens I’ve ever known,” Nemerow said, adding Wooten is going to play at the Naval Academy next year.
Both Nemerow and Wooten admitted, however, that the goal — from about a quarter of the field length out from the far right side — was more of a pass that just happened to find in its way into the back of the net.
The nature of the shot simply reflected the Yellow Jackets’ season motto.
“The kids were saying, ‘luck’s what happens when preparation meets opportunity,’” Nemerow said. “Every year we have a saying on our shirts and that was one of the sayings on one of our shirts.”
Added Wooten: “I’m glad we came together as a team today—that was really important,” Wooten said. “That’s bigger than the win, being able to play with each other.”
Wooten readily praised one of his teammates for the clinching goal.
“It was a great assist by [junior forward] Nick Surkamp,” he said. “He held the ball until I got there and I ran around him and he played me a nice ball.”
Even though the Patriots let the game-winning goal narrowly slip by, senior goalkeeper Brandon Agee played a solid game.
“[Agee] played great,
especially in the second half when they had corner kick after corner kick,” Albemarle coach Scott Jackson said.
For Albemarle, it was a spring that ended sourly, but not before a sweet regular season that included 19 consecutive wins, a district title and only three one-goal margin victories.
“It was a great season,” Jackson said. “To be 19-1, no matter what, the kids really accomplished something special. It’s tough to go out on your first loss but that’s the way it is sometimes.”
The praise for the Patriots was echoed by Nemerow.
“There’s not enough time to say as many good things as I want to say about Albemarle,” he said. “They put pressure on us the whole game. They had some near misses. They made [junior goalkeeper] Dylan [Leygraaf] and some other kids have to make great plays in order just to survive. That’s a great team right there. There are a lot of things they do well that we can only aspire to. That’s a real good team and we feel fortunate to win the game.”
Both teams could have been praised for their equally impressive efforts. The Yellow Jackets were more aggressive during the early going, but the Patriots wrestled momentum away from the visitors during the second part of the first half.
“We kind of settled into the game a little bit and after about 20 minutes we seemed to kind of find our groove,” Jackson said. “From 20 minutes on I thought it was just a battle back and forth.”
The Patriots continued their improved play during the second half and it seemed a matter of time before they would break through to continue their perfect season. They could just not sneak any goals through, however, thanks to a superb different effort by the Yellow Jackets, an effort Albemarle was able to match.
“It was a great defensive effort [by both teams] Jackson said. “Osbourn Park is very well-coached and organized. I thought our boys played a very strong defensive game. There weren’t too many great opportunities to score and that’s just a reflection of good defense on both sides.”
No one seriously threatened to score during the first overtime, and as the second overtime began, play got hectic, and one got the sense that anything could happen. That was when Wooten’s goal floated through the air to the find the back left corner of the net.
“Obviously these guys have scored 77 goals this year and we got a shutout and that’s the bigger deal,” Nemerow said. “We had a lot of chances we didn’t make the most of but we scored on that one right there.”
Despite the loss, Albemarle’s senior class compiled a stellar record during the past two seasons.
“I’d like to recognize the senior class,” Jackson said. “Over the past two years, they are 36-5. It’s something to be proud of and they are all class acts, in the classroom and on the athletic field.”
With the undefeated Patriots now conquered, Osbourn Park moves on to play either Forest Park or Patrick Henry in the semifinals.
“We’ve got a young team and we’re just learning how to play together well,” Nemerow said “That part was even more important than the victory—just going in there and working for your teammate as hard as you could —and then we got the result we wanted.”