WAHS rolls to final

Western Albemarle sophomores Abby Wheeler and Jordan Haws weren’t looking for each other on every offensive possession against Potomac Falls — it just looked that way.
“It seems like that’s how it’s working out right now,” Haws said.
Haws set the table for Wheeler on four of her eight goals as Western blew past Potomac Falls for a 19-4 victory in the Region II semifinals Monday night.
Haws also knocked in a pair of goals to go with her four assists in the runaway victory. Wheeler had five of her eight in the first half, a product of an ever-improving Warrior offense.
“In practice we’ve been working on getting the ball around as fast as we can,” Haws said. “We’re just trying to get the defense moving and not let them find the ball. It worked really well today.”
Another young contributor for the Warriors (14-2), freshman Ellen Shaffrey, had a big night with a hat trick and a pair of assists. Bridgett Lynn and Ally Swanson each chipped in with a pair of goals.
“We were keeping our heads up more often today,” Wheeler said. “We started to not just hit the first thing we saw, but really wait for the right thing. So that really went well for us today.”
Swanson also sat out the Warriors’ past two games after she took a stick to the head during the team’s district semifinal win over Charlottesville that required stitches. The rest of the Western squad showed a lot of grit as Lynn played through a tweaked back and Wheeler played through a scrape sustained during the first half.
“I mean these kids love this sport and they want to be out here playing it,” said Western coach Nancy Haws.
Western leapt out to a 4-1 lead in the first half, with Haws and Wheeler splitting the tallies and Haws assisting on Wheeler’s game-opening goal. Potomac Falls quickly called a timeout immediately after an unassisted Haws goal, but to no avail.
Western reeled off four more goals to take an 8-1 lead. At the half, the Warriors were up 11-3 and in complete control.
The Warriors will take on Broad Run, who beat Rockbridge 16-4 on Monday, in the region finals on Wednesday at home.