Albemarle High School boys varsity soccer
With a strong senior class and a promising batch of underclassmen, Albemarle had its sights on the state title all season.
The Patriots’ near-perfect regular season was ruined by their inter-county rivals, Western Albemarle High School. After an 8-0 start to the season, Albemarle traveled to Crozet on April 23. The two teams played 72 minutes of gridlock soccer until Western’s Jake Paulson converted a penalty, handing Albemarle its first and only loss of the season.
Throughout Albemarle’s historic 20-1-0 season they outscored their opponents by 75 goals. At the end of the season they defeated Falls Church High School 1-0 to claim the 5A state title for the second time in four years.
St. Anne’s Belfield boys varsity lacrosse
After a tough start to the season, St. Anne’s rallied behind the leadership of the Robertson brothers: Phillip, a senior midfielder and Joe, a junior attacker.
Tough losses to Loyola Blakefield and the St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School at home threatened to dim the Saints’ spirits. But the team rallied to win the remaining nine games of the regular season, advancing to the VISAA Division I state title game. The team’s foe was familiar: St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School, which beat St. Anne’s 14-5 in the regular season.
St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes blew past STAB in the VISAA Division I final, defeating the Saints 12-7. Despite the loss, the Saints’ unprecedented playoff run placed three players on the Division I All-State first team: the Robertson brothers and Kareem Johnson.
Western Albemarle boys varsity soccer
The Western Albemarle boys soccer team was 5-0-2 going into its game against Albemarle on April 23. After the momentous victory, the Warriors finished out the season with a 19-2-3 record as well as a berth in the 3A state title game against a challenging Blacksburg opponent. Blacksburg defeated Western in the Region 3A West tournament 1-0 just five days before their state title game rematch.
The Warriors opened the scoring 20 minutes into the match off of Carrington Murphy’s foot, putting Western on top 1-0. Nearly 40 minutes later the Warriors surrendered a penalty to Blacksburg, leveling the score 1-1. Western found the game-winning goal with 14 minutes remaining off of a corner kick. Jed Strickland careened the ball into the back of the net to secure Western Albemarle’s second state title in three years.
William Monroe varsity baseball
William Monroe’s baseball program has always been successful but had never reached the state tournament until this season. The Dragons took their 20-3 season into the playoffs where they met Poquoson in the Region 3A East tournament finals. The two teams battled it out through nine innings, but the Dragons came up short and lost 4-3. Despite the shortfall, William Monroe advanced to the 3A state tournament where they defeated Turner Ashby 3-0. With their victory they met Rustburg in the 3A state final. In a game similar to the Region 3A East final, the Dragons fell just short of Rustburg, losing 3-2, and capping off a historic season for William Monroe baseball.
St. Anne’s Belfield girls varsity lacrosse
After a successful regular season, the STAB girls lacrosse team positioned itself at the top of the League of Independent School (LIS) standings, earning a bye in the quarterfinals. After blowing past St. Catherine’s School 16-7 in the LIS semifinals, the Saints met up with rival Collegiate in the finals. The rivals battled it out, with the STAB girls claiming the LIS crown after a 9-8 victory on May 12.
After the LIS tournament, the Saints sought to keep the ball rolling into the VISAA Division I tournament as the third seed. STAB faced Collegiate once again in the quarterfinals. The result remained the same as STAB snuck past the Cougars 12-11 into the semifinals. There the Saints met the second-seeded Bishop Ireton. The Saints weren’t so lucky as they fell to Bishop Ireton 16-7, ending their season.