Pats win defensive struggle

It certainly wasn’t high-octane lacrosse, but a three-goal surge by Albemarle in the first three minutes of the third quarter was enough to lift the Patriots to a 6-2 victory over Western Albemarle in a cross-county rivalry matchup Monday night.

“We had to really work for everything we had tonight,” said Albemarle coach Pat McAdams. “The defenses played very well — it was kind of a midfield battle.”

Ari Elgort keyed the Patriots win with several key faceoff wins at the start of the second half that led to the game’s only flurry of goals. John Chandler buried a Bernie Mowbray pass on the first goal after the break to end a 1-1 halftime deadlock. The pair then switched roles on the next goal, with Mowbray finding the back of the net. Billy Crist followed shortly thereafter with an unassisted tally of his own.

“Coming out of the half, we just needed a little bit of spark emotionally,” McAdams said. “And Ari started that. Ari’s a master at using his body to protect [the ball].”

Western (4-6) seemed prepared to climb back into contention after a Jacob Myers goal at the 5:51 mark in the third, but from there, Albemarle (7-3) held on tight.

The two teams battled extensively in the midfield during the latter stages of the third quarter and throughout the fourth. Albemarle managed to extend the lead to 5-2 on a man-up goal by freshman Ryan McCollough during that stretch, which made things and Dalton Stokes added an insurance goal with 1:25 left in the contest to squash any Western hopes for a comeback.

“Our defensive midfield was really gassed there at the end,” said Western coach Brad Haws. “We did better than we have in the past with keeping possession, but that three minute spurt [at the start of the third quarter] really hurt us.”

Albemarle sophomore goalie Austin Sigler was strong in the cage, coming up with eight saves against a young, but talented, Western attack unit. Sigler got a lot of help from a seasoned defensive unit, led by several longsticks that helped Albemarle dominate on ground balls.

Western goalie Cody Peters matched Sigler save for save as both defensive units kept the score low with a lockdown effort, particularly in the 1-1 opening half.