Another Western victory

The only thing that has interrupted Western Albemarle’s Jefferson District tournament dominance is the canceled tournament in 2007. The Warriors’ opponents certainly haven’t gotten the job done.
Western Albemarle flexed its muscle Thursday night with a dominant 12-5 victory over Salem for the Warriors’ fourth-straight district tournament title dating back to 2004.
“The kids really started working hard [after a 13-4 loss to St. Anne’s-Belfield last Tuesday],” said Western head coach Hunter Price. “We’re starting to have some fast starts.”
Western cruised to the win, leaping out to an 8-1 halftime lead against the Spartans. Max Pfeifer and Mack Schwoebel got things going by teaming up for the Warriors’ opening goal, and the duo
never slowed down, accounting for seven goals and four assists between the two of them. Schwoebel led the Warriors with four goals and two helpers while Pfeifer posted a hat trick and a pair of assists.
Pfeifer’s flashiest goal came on a well-placed long clear by goalie Cody Peters that created an instant fastbreak for Pfeifer. The Notre Dame-bound senior then buried the ball in the back of the cage on a behind-the-head shot. Schwoebel had three unassisted goals on aggressive moves to the cage.
But it was Jerry Walsh, a longstick defensive midfielder, who had the most unusual goals. Walsh, who rarely factors in offense, scored on a pair of breakaways in the first half - and one went in when it wasn’t even supposed to be a shot.
“I meant for that first goal to be a pass to Matt Galvin and I just got lucky,” Walsh said. “It just went in top-shelf.”
It doesn’t appear that Walsh will be getting a short stick and more time on offense anytime soon though.
“I can’t do that,” Price joked. “Goals are nice from Jerry, but the big thing with Jerry is ground balls. We can really control it when Jerry is on his game.”
Junior goalie Cody Peters had 16 saves in the win, spearheading a Western defense that allowed just one goal before halftime.
“Cody was definitely the big player,” Walsh said. “Everyone just played well tonight, we had a lot of takeaways and good team defense.”
Salem, a young program that has made vast improvements, struggled to hang with the Warriors from the start.
“Pat them on the back they’re a heck of a team, but we’re disappointed in the quality that we put on the field early on,” said Salem head coach David Turk. “I think we were a little bit too nervous and too tight because we knew this was a big game for us and a chance to prove where we’ve gotten to.”
Korey Gaines led the Spartans with a pair of goals.
Salem (14-2) has only lost to Western this season.
Western will host a region semifinal Monday night against either Heritage or Broad Run. The Warriors are the defending region champions.