Albemarle scraps into final

It was only fitting that in a one-goal game, both Albemarle and Colonial Forge each turned over the ball once in the final minute of play.

In the previous 47 minutes of the Commonwealth District semifinals, it seemed that there was a turnover for every shot taken by either squad.

But behind a gutsy performance by the Albemarle defense and a handful of clutch saves from goalkeeper Austin Sigler, the Patriots were able to slip past the Eagles 6-5 to advance to the championship game.

“Austin really blanked them,” said Albemarle coach Pat McAdams. “Austin saved us. I think he had four saves that could have been — maybe should have been — goals for them. He took those off the board and we wound up winning by one.”

In a game that was a defensive struggle throughout, the Patriots (11-3) got off to a quality start by taking a 4-0 lead midway through the second quarter, with Hunter McCann chipping in a pair of goals.

But Forge came to life towards the end of the second quarter, when Aedan Herman and Brian Schap cut the Patriots’ lead in half by the end of the first half.

“There were too many unforced errors,” McAdams said. “Too much rushing, getting away from basic fundamentals. Sometimes I thought we got caught doing — what I call — ball watching on defense.”

After a scoreless third quarter, Albemarle extended its lead to three in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, only to have the Eagles (10-5) surge behind Herman, the district player of the year, and tie the game at five goals apiece.

“I really thought we had a shot there at the end,” said Forge coach Blair Penny. “Basically, between the third and fourth quarters, we told the kids that we were forcing the issue on defense. We needed to have the same intensity and focus down on offense. The kids responded to it and started getting after [the ball].”

With eight minutes and change left in the game, the Patriots took the lead for good when Billy Crist hit John Chandler in the front of the net. Chandler made the most of the opportunities, and the Patriots were able to hold fast on defense to finish the game.

“The defense really came through for us at the end,” McCann said. “We practiced that a lot [on Tuesday] and we played like we practiced. And it was definitely a fun game to play in.”

McCann and Chandler each finished with a pair of goals, while Crist finished with a goal and two assists. Bernie Mowbray had the game’s first goal and also contributed an assist.

Sigler finished with 10 saves on 27 shots.

Herman was a one-man show for the Eagles, finishing with two goals and three assists.

The Patriots will host the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between Brooke Point and North Stafford today at 6 p.m.