The Western Albemarle and Monticello field hockey teams went into double overtime last Thursday, but the final period ended quickly.
Less than a minute into the second overtime block, the Warriors moved swiftly up the field, with Mia Craytor eventually finding Molly Thatcher near the goal.
Thatcher snuck the ball past the keeper to give Western Albemarle a 2-1 victory.
“It was all Mia. She had such a good pass to me,” Thatcher said. “I just got lucky. The goalie kind of dove, and I just lifted it over her stick.”
The Warriors improved their overall record to 12-1 and district record to 9-0. Monticello entered Thursday’s game with a 10-2 record, with one of the losses being in another tight battle with Western Albemarle.
“We knew that they really wanted this win since we had beat them the first time,” Warriors head coach Krissi Dawson said. “They’re really tough competition and they have some really great players.”
With the Mustangs being one of Western Albemarle’s toughest opponents, the Warriors aimed to arrive ready for the test.
“I think we prepared really well going into it, because we knew our strengths and we knew some of their strengths,” Warriors goalkeeper Maizey McCarthy said.
“It really came down to just we know how they play, and it’s really different than most other teams, so we definitely had to practice it,” Thatcher added.
In regulation, Camille Love provided the Western Albemarle goal, while Emma Black tied it up on a fast-break buzzer beater at the end of the first half.
The back-and-forth contest gave a quality guide to what the playoffs could bring.
“We haven’t really had competitive games. This is probably one of the biggest ones of our season,” McCarthy said. “Now going into postseason, I think it puts some good energy towards that.”
The fact that Thursday’s game went into overtime also gave the Warriors some necessary exposure to a pressure situation.
“We’re a super young team, and we haven’t gone into overtime yet, and so, I think it’s just a good experience to see kind of what it’s like and what it looks like,” Dawson said. “I think in general, it’s a great opportunity to show the girls we can do it, we can stay with it, we can hang on and we can win.”
Along with playing for high stakes, the extra periods required Western Albemarle and Monticello to compete in a seven-on-seven setting.
“Four of our seven players that were on for the 7 v. 7 have never done a 7 v. 7 before, so it was a good experience,” Thatcher said. “Getting this in before postseason is super awesome.”
The Warriors’ success has come despite graduating 15 seniors from their 2024 roster.
“I don’t know that any of us coming into this season knew exactly what to expect, but we knew that a main focus was working together as a team and that we were going to build a new identity,” Dawson said.
The 2025 team has showcased great abilities in being good teammates.
“I think one of our biggest strengths is that the girls on the sideline as well are super focused, they’re cheering, they come up with cheers, they’re making sure that we are pumped and in the game, and the energy level is up,” Dawson said.
“With these younger players, I think our sideline and everyone on the team is just giving them the confidence they need to perform at a varsity level, even as freshmen and sophomores, which is super awesome,” Thatcher added.
Western Albemarle has also benefitted from a complete roster with reliability up and down the lineup.
“I think our biggest asset this year is that we play very well as a team. We’re not looking for any one person to be the star of any game,” Dawson said. “[We have] played 13 games so far this season. I could pick out a different star for every single one.”
The Warriors will next play Maggie Walker on Tuesday, while the Mustangs will face Albemarle.
Chris Gionta
cgionta@dailyprogress.com
@Chris_Gionta on X
C’ville Varsity
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