Western posts 2nd straight shutout

After a couple of tough losses early in the season to Albemarle and Fluvanna County, the Western Albemarle boys soccer team looks to be on the rebound.

The Warriors posted their second straight shutout on Thursday night by beating Monticello 3-0, fueled mostly by an aggressive midfield and defense that kept the Mustangs on their heels for much of the game.

“We are a Jekyll and Hyde team,” said Western coach Paul Rittenhouse. “We’re not a good enough team where we can just expect individual players or talent to just carry us. This is a team that, until we continue to improve, we have to be going at 95 percent or higher to be competitive. When we play hard or aggressive, that’s the difference for us.”

It was a tight game early as both teams worked on 50-50 balls at the midfield setting up the occasional odd man break.

After some back-and-forth play, Toshy Penny headed a ball from teammate Aaron Myers in to the net to put Western up 1-0 15 minutes into the game.

“Aaron played me a great ball,” Penny said of his goal. “Really all I had to do was put it in.”

The Warriors (2-3, 2-1 Jefferson District) worked exceptionally hard trying to get some insurance. Despite controlling the ball at midfield and in Monticello’s end for almost a 30-minute stretch, Western struggled to shots past Mustangs goalkeeper Cory Smith.

Of the eight shots that Western put on goal, Smith made five saves.

“Cory played just a great game,” said Monticello coach Adam Southall. “He got a lot of tough shots, made some quick reactions. I’m very proud of the way he played.”

Halfway through the second half, Myers was able to find the back of the net off a rebound to give his team the breathing room it needed.

He struck again off a pass from Will Oden with three minutes remaining.

“I don’t think [my first goal] was that great of a goal,” Myers said. “Maybe you could call it a hustle goal. The second goal, Will just played an excellent ball across and all I had to do was one-touch it in.”

Playing with just one substitute, the Monticello (1-2, 1-1) had its best scoring opportunity come early in the first half when Miguel Gomez had a clean look at an open western net as he ran down the right side of the field. However, with Western defender Tom Rogers nipping at his heels, Gomez’s shot went wide right of the goal.

“Unfortunately we were a little depleted, losing a number of players to spring break,” Southall said. “We just didn’t have a full staff and that made a big difference, particularly in the second half.”

Rittenhouse expressed disappointment after the Warriors first game, a loss at the hands of Albemarle, in which his midfield was sagging back rather than playing aggressive.

“We’ve been working hard in practice and it definitely showed today,” said Penny, a senior midfielder. “You can definitely see the improvement between a few weeks ago and now.”

Monticello travels to Fluvanna County on Monday at 6:30 p.m.

Western Albemarle travels to Charlottesville on Monday at 6:30 p.m.