Chargers handle Patriots in semis

By Ryan Yemen
Published: June 5, 2008

CHANTILLY — Coming into Thursday’s VHSL semifinal game against Chantilly, Albemarle girls lacrosse coach David Sloan knew that the Patriots were going to have to contain Chargers attacker Brittany Griel.

“We knew [Griel] was their player,” Sloan said. “You’ve got to perform against star players like that.”

Shutting Griel down proved tougher than anyone imagined as the Chantilly star scored six times to lead her team past the Patriots, 11-9.

“We threw some pretty good defense at her, and [AHS goalie] Erin Jablonski played outstanding in net, but you’ve got to give them credit,” Sloan said. “They’re a good team, we’re a good team and it was a good game.”

Taking complete control of the possession battle, Chantilly (17-2) made the most of its offensive opportunities, taking a three-goal lead into halftime. Jablonski’s play between the pipes kept the game within reach as she made seven of her 10 stops in the first half.

Albemarle (17-3) got another pair of outstanding efforts from seniors Margaret Moss and Katie Tubridy, who combined to score eight of the team’s nine goals, finding the back of the net four times each.

“Margaret Moss, in my opinion, is the finest player in Central Virginia,” Sloan said. “Katie Tubridy isn’t far behind her. We’re really going to miss our seniors.”

After plenty of offense in the first half, it was mostly defense in the second, but more so for the Patriots than the Chargers. Up by two goals with eight minutes to play, Chantilly put together a six-minute possession that melted away the clock.

“When you get to this point in the season, it’s the team that holds on to the ball that wins,” Sloan said. “We had a little bit of trouble communicating the kind of defense we wanted. We wanted to pressure the ball and half our kids got the message and half didn’t.”

For most of the first half, it was a back-and-forth game until the Chargers’ offense pinned its ears back. With just over two minutes to play before the end of the half, Griel put in her fifth goal of the game to break a 6-6 deadlock and give Chantilly the lead for good. On the next two possessions, Kaitlyn Stillwell scored for Chantilly, picking up her second goal on a last-second shot that just beat the buzzer.

“I think the girls were a little nervous early, but just need to find that confidence,” said Chargers coach Michele Gates. “Then they found it. When you’re able to hold on to the ball that’s a sign of confidence.”

For first 25 minutes, the Albemarle offense was almost entirely fueled by fast breaks. By the second half, the Patriots tried to slow down the pace and work on taking high percentage shots. However, with Chantilly doing the same, the Patriots were forced to go back to fast breaks.

At the 16-minute mark in the second half, the Patriots cut the Chargers’ lead to two when Courtney Elliot scored. Two minutes later, Moss put in her fourth score to make it a one-goal game.

However, Chantilly responded after Moss’ goal as Griel scored her sixth goal of the game to put her team up by two with 10 minutes to play. It was then that Chantilly began playing catch for six minutes.

“Once you get to about five or six minutes to play it’s tough to play catch up defense against a good team like that,” Sloan said.

Both teams would exchange goals in the final minutes, but there wasn’t enough time for Albemarle to tie the game.

“Our goal has always been states,” Griel said. “We’ve never said district finals, or regional finals, we’ve always aimed for states. It just feels really good to get there.”

The Chargers have their shot in the championship game to be played against Oakton on Saturday. The Cougars beat the Chargers 14-12 three weeks ago.