Patriots shut down Jackets

By Chip Knighton

Published: May 22, 2008

Only four seniors suited up for Albemarle in its Northwest Region quarterfinal matchup with Osbourn Park on Wednesday night, but every one of them made their presence felt.
Goalkeeper Gus Cramer and defender Angus Brooks came up especially big, masterminding a defensive stand that lasted nearly half an hour as the Patriots won 11-5.
“We started to really be conscious of how far out we were extending,” said Albemarle coach Pat McAdams. “We really protected the front of the goal and made some real timely slides.”
Osbourn Park attackman Nick Reed fought his way through the Albemarle defense for a goal 15 seconds into the second quarter. The Yellow Jackets (13-5) would not score again until the 10:19 mark of the fourth period. All told, the Patriots pitched a shutout for 25 minutes and 26 seconds before Kyle Fox ended the drought with a man-up goal.
Osbourn Park couldn’t even find the net when Cramer was out of position. At one point, the Patriots goalie dove on the ground during a scrum just outside the crease, leaving an open net. Albemarle defenseman Jon Pfeifer got his stick on Kevon Peoples’ shot to deflect it wide.
In between, the Patriots stretched a 5-2 lead to 10-2 behind two goals from Bernie Mowbray and one each Zach Pitts, Connor McCollough and Billy Crist. Pitts, a senior, and Mowbray scored a game-high four goals apiece.
“That third quarter can really dictate the outcome more than any other quarter,” McAdams said. “We came out, we won the ball and got a couple of goals early on there. We never allowed them to gather any momentum.”
Brooks, Pfeifer and Julian Kroboth keyed the Albemarle defensive effort along with long-stick midfielder Ian Jumper. The quartet hassled Osbourn Park’s three senior attackers — Fox, Reed and Ryan McDonald — into tough shots that Cramer had little trouble stopping.
Albemarle’s fourth senior, Brent Montgomery, got the Patriots (15-2) off to a fast start. He came in after Ari Elgort won the opening faceoff, took a pass from Pitts and converted on a bounce shot just 26 seconds into the game.
Pitts put the exclamation point on the first quarter with a buzzer-beater from just inside midfield that gave Albemarle a 5-1 lead.
“I saw the guy coming up on my right, so I stopped and locked, cocked and shot,” Pitts said.
Crist added three assists to his goal and McCollough had two helpers. All of Crist’s assists came in the first half, while McCollough set up Mowbray and Crist in the third quarter.
“Moving the ball is the key to any good attacking
offense,” Mowbray said. “That’s what we did.”
Fox led Osbourn Park with three goals — all in the fourth quarter. McDonald added a goal in the first quarter before the Albemarle defense locked down.
“They came out ready to play,” said Osbourn Park coach Rodney Cornell. “I give them all the credit in the world. They have a very good team, very athletic, and Albemarle was determined to win this game. It was evident from the first whistle.”
Albemarle advances to the region quarterfinals and will get a home game as the high seed. The Patriots will face the winner of Woodbridge and Patrick Henry-Roanoke on Friday at 6 p.m.