Albemarle keeps winning

Albemarle kept its win streak and state title hopes rolling on Friday in the Northwest Region semifinals against Osbourn Park, as the Patriots once again held on in a closely matched game, 7-6.

Osbourn Park was coming off an upset win at Forest Park in the quarterfinals, giving the Yellow Jackets the confidence to try and pull another one out on the road.

“We knew going into the game that it was going to be all about momentum,” Osbourn Park coach Rodney Cornell said. “It was just a great, hard-fought game by both teams.”

After trailing 2-0 early, Osbourn Park maintained a 4-3 lead after three quarters, and the Patriots showed their resilience in the fourth, out-scoring the visitors 4-2 in the period.

Senior captain Ari Elgort made his presence felt the entire game, winning 14 of 17 faceoffs, and scored two huge momentum-changing goals down the stretch to carry his club to its 11th straight victory.

“Osbourn Park made things very difficult for us,” said AHS coach Pat McAdams. “They really fed off their own momentum, they fed off emotion, and they were aggressive on defense.”

Elgort scored on the opening faceoff of the quarter, just 10 seconds in, to tie the game at 4. Freshman John Chandler received a perfect assist from classmate Ryan McCullough a few minutes later to give the Patriots their first lead since midway through the second quarter.

Elgort and Chandler had two goals apiece to lead Albemarle.

Osbourn Park’s Jeff McMurtry scored a goal that knotted the score at 5-5, and Elgort used shear determination after essentially being choked and held to put the Pats back on top 12 seconds later.

“I just always try to grind it out and keep pushing,” Elgort said of his effort that earned a rare game ball from the coaches. “I go as hard as I can the whole game, I do whatever I can to help the team.”

McAdams added: “It became a battle of emotion and Ari hung in there and came up with a big play. Those are the kind of plays that you only make when you’ve committed yourself 150 percent when you’re right there on the razor’s edge.”

Yellow Jackets midfielder Nick Leporatti scored his second goal on a man advantage with 1:19 to play to even things up again, but Chandler again came up big in a clutch situation.

With less than a minute to play, Albemarle’s Bryan Trammell slipped in front of the crease, and Chandler scooped up the loose ball and snuck it past the Yellow Jacket defenders to put the Patriots up for good with 43 seconds left.

“John has really emerged as a great finisher for us,” McAdams said. “I talked to him throughout the game about being intently focused, understanding that the ball is going to be in his stick and he’s going to be called upon to make a play, and he did that.”

With the win, Albemarle (15-3) will host the Brooke Point-Loudoun Valley winner on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Patriots also clinched a berth in the Group AAA tournament with the victory.