The Western Albemarle girls lacrosse team showed why it is the Jefferson District’s top team as it excelled in all facets of the game in a semifinal win over Charlottesville Tuesday night.

Thomas Stallings drove in the game-winning run as the Miller baseball team rallied for four runs in the last two innings in a 4-3 victory over Seton in the VISBA quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Despite winter-like conditions and a comeback attempt by a pesky bunch from Appomattox County, Buckingham County remained undefeated on the season with a 4-2 victory on Monday.

“She knows when to back off and let other people shine and she knows when to step up,” said Western Albemarle lacrosse coach Nancy Haws. “She is so unselfish that way.”

Western Albemarle and Monticello squared off in a do-or-die tiebreaker match to decide who would secure the top seed in Monday’s Jefferson District tournament on Saturday. After splitting the season series the teams were tied, but in the rubber match, Western prevailed, 6-1.

For a couple of years now, it’s largely been the Daniel Lieb show when Monticello’s lacrosse team takes the field.

Many people in the sports world will say that it’s not about how you start a game, it’s how you finish. But the Covenant girls soccer team would beg to differ.

Charlottesville and Western Albemarle battled it out for the regular-season Jefferson District title on Thursday, and the Black Knights came through in a must-win situation to secure a first-round bye in the district tournament with a 1-0 win.

After dispatching Western Albemarle on Tuesday, the St. Anne’s-Belfield boys lacrosse team turned its attention to another local rival in Covenant.

The Virginia High School League’s Group AAA football championships are bidding goodbye to Scott Stadium.

On the same night that the Patriots honored their seniors, they cruised past Monticello to a 14-3 win behind seniors Margaret Moss and Katie Tubridy, who combined for seven goals.

Chris Fraser received rave reviews from a number of colleagues and co-workers during the interview process, but Dyrell Roberts seems to be one of his biggest fans.

The Albemarle boys tennis team found itself in an unexpected dogfight in the Commonwealth District final on Wednesday evening. After a dominant first-set performance in which no Patriot won by fewer than four points, second-seeded Mountain View took a pair of second sets to stay alive.

The Patriots made quick work of visiting Riverbend in a 5-0 victory in the district final. In the five completed matches, Albemarle claimed each set by at least four points.

Girls Soccer

St. Anne’s-Belfield seems to have stumbled on to a simple formula that works pretty well. The Saints disposed of Western Albemarle in much the same fashion that St. Anne’s did Woodberry Forest on Saturday - jump out to a big lead, stay patient on offense and let a solid defense take over.

No two baseball parks are the same, and it’s not uncommon to see a team making the most of its home-field advantage. With a handful of left-handed hitters, William Monroe took full advantage of their short right-field fence on Tuesday.

It’s frustrating to be the new kid on the block and equally galling to be overshadowed in your own county. But the Monticello girls tennis team is quietly building a tradition and took a big step into the limelight on Tuesday.

In a matchup that featured two of the best lacrosse teams in the state, Collegiate ended Albemarle’s unbeaten season Monday night 13-6.

“(CHS athletic director) Rick (Lilly) sold me on the program,” said Chris Fraser, who was introduced to the press as the new head coach Monday afternoon. “He sold me on his vision, his energy and his enthusiasm. I think it’s going to be a great situation for both of us.”

According to the Daily Press in Newport News, Charlottesville High has found a head coach for the football program. Smithfield High football coach Chris Fraser will take over the program.

St. Anne’s-Belfield was aware that Woodberry Forest was going to rally after the break. The only question was how close they’d get.

The first time William Monroe and Orange County locked up, the Dragons’ batters got the better of Heather Jenkins. Jenkins made sure she got them back Friday night.
The junior hurler allowed just three hits and struck out five in 6.2 innings of work to lead Orange to a 4-2 victory over Monroe.

The way Orange County starting pitcher Derek Justice was dealing, the Hornets probably didn’t need five runs against William Monroe Friday night at Porterfield Park. Justice got all the run support he needed in the first inning when he helped his own cause with a sacrifice-fly RBI. The rest was icing on the cake.

By all accounts, Thursday’s matchup between Western Albemarle and Fluvanna County, two Jefferson District teams featuring solid defenses, should have been a low-scoring affair.

Every minute of a soccer game matters, but none quite so much as the last two. In a match between two evenly-balanced girls soccer teams, Western Albemarle and Fluvanna County played each other to a 1-1 tie.

Sam Beale is happy with the results of his work with Covenant freshman Sean Rutherford. Beale’s just wishing the young hurler’s success didn’t have to come against his own Miller squad.

Over the past few years, the Albemarle girls tennis team has established itself as a perennial power in the Commonwealth district.

Whitney Friend, a senior at Albemarle High School, will continue her swimming career at the next level. Friend recently committed to Radford after considering other schools, including George Mason, James Madison, William and Mary and West Virginia.

The Nelson County baseball team, two games out of the top spot in the Dogwood District, needed a district win against a struggling Gretna squad.