Madigan, Coffey lead Patriots past Warriors

For fifty minutes the Albemarle boys soccer team was knocking on the door. Out shooting cross county rival Western Albemarle by a two-to-one margin, the Patriots finally broke through when Michael Madigan headed in a rebound into the back of the net.
“We’re always told to crash shots,” Madigan said. “That was really Zach Tyler’s goal. He hit a perfect shot off the cross bar and everyone else was just watching the shot and I was able to go in.”
Twelve minutes later, Ben Coffey added the insurance goal on an remarkable shot that found the top right corner while Coffey was running in the opposite direction to give the Patriots a 2-0 win.
“I had been frustrated all game because I was getting chances and just wasn’t finishing through,” Coffey said.  “It was a great through ball, and I was just able to get through my defender and put one through.”
Coffey, who will play for William and Mary in the fall, almost single handedly kept his team on offense throughout the first half, shedding two defenders at a time with his footwork.
“In terms of technical ability, skill wise, he’s the best player in the state of Virginia,” said Albemarle coach Scott Jackson.  “That’s why he’s going to play at the next level.  He’s just a fantastic player.”
The Warriors (0-1) had a handful of scoring opportunities in the first half, including a pair of breakaways from junior Aaron Myers, but much like the Patriots, were unable to put up anything on the scoreboard.
Albemarle’s seasoned backfield kept a close watch on Myers, particularly in the second half.
“Aaron Myers is a great player and Paul Rittenhouse is a great coach, but we’ve got four real veteran defenders,” Jackson said.  “I’ll put our four kids against any four defenders in the state.”
Though just a freshman, Western’s Christian Pettgrove showed plenty of promise for the Warriors, playing defense with the kind of aggression that Rittenhouse hopes spreads to the rest of his squad.
“We just need the midfield to play with the kind of tenacity that our back line played with,” Rittenhouse said. “When that happens things will definitely open up.”
Rittenhouse was pleased with the effort his team put forth against a talented Patriots squad, viewing the experience as a good learning opportunity.
“Albemarle’s well coached, has very talented players and they’re big kids too,” Rittenhouse said. “This is a good first test — a game that we would expect to see in our district mid-season. So it’s a good measuring stick game early that sort of sends a shot across the midfield’s bow.”
For Albemarle, Jackson is hoping that his team doesn’t have to work quite so hard to get that first goal.
“The guys were playing well, passing and working well with one another,” Jackson said.  “The problem is that we just have to appreciate the scoring opportunities a little bit more than we do right now.”
Western travels to Waynesboro today at 6:30 p.m. while Albemarle visits Brooke Point on Friday at 7 p.m.