DC – Washington Catholic Athletic Conference | Archive | May, 2009

Created by Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Editor
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area

Top 10 Plays — May 18-24, 2009

Click
the video on the left for the full countdown of the Top 10 plays from
across the seven DigitalSports territories in the greater Washington,
D.C. Metro area.

You can also view the full list of top plays
below. Click on the titles to view the individual, unedited highlights
at respective homepages.

Check back every Monday morning for the new Top 10 countdown from around the metropolitan area.

To nominate and upload plays or accomplishments from your school:

**CLICK HERE**

No. 10 –– Barry, Barry Extraordinary
Northern Region, Virginia
— In a match-up between teams way too good to happen in the first round of the Northern Region Tournament, Robinson senior Audrey Barry slotted home the game-winning, triple-overtime golden goal in the 91st minute to lift her side over Stone Bridge, 2-1.

No. 9 –– Rams Slammed    Save    Winning PK
Northern Region, Virginia
— Robinson, with its penalty-kick loss in the Concorde finals, fell into the Group of Death for the Northern Region Tournament. But after surviving a triple-overtime scare by Stone Bridge in the first round, the defending state champs traveled to West Springfield to meet one of the most dominant sides in Northern Virginia. The Spartans and Rams were tied at one after regulation and four overtimes and went to penalty kicks. On the sixth kick, West Springfield senior goalkeeper Beth Anne Nowak came up with the save and, on the next try, senior birthday girl Julia Stejskal blasted home the game-winner.

No. 8 — Comeback City
Northern Region, Virginia
— Last week, in the Concorde District championship, Robinson trailed Chantilly by two with 5 minutes, 30 seconds remaining and scored three unanswered goals to hand the Chargers their first loss of the year. Last Wednesday, in the Northern Region final, the Rams trailed by three goals with 8:55 to go and scored four unanswered goals to win the regional title, 10-9.

No. 7 –– Colella Gem

Northern Region, Virginia
— In the first round of the Northern Region Tournament, Chantilly senior — and second-team All-Region member — John Colella threw a complete-game, one-hitter at Stone Bridge, as the Chargers beat the Bulldogs, 3-2, to advance to the regional quarterfinals.

No. 6 –– Patriots Snap Spartan Streak
Loudoun County, Virginia
— Entering its semifinal match-up with Park View, Broad Run softball had won 67 consecutive Dulles District softball games. But the Patriots snapped the streak with a 3-0 win, riding a complete-game shutout by sophomore pitcher Robin Heironimus.

No. 5 –– Out of the Woods
Loudoun County, Virginia
— In its first year of existence, 2006, Briar Woods softball went 0-for-the season, losing every game. The next year, it won once. But, in 2009, The Falcons stepped completely into new, uncharted territory, winning the league championship. On the legs of a game-winning single by sophomore Alexandra Fierszt, Briar Woods beat Park View, 4-3, in the finals on Friday.

No. 4 –– Dern Good Performance
Northern Region, Virginia
— Lake Braddock junior southpaw Brian Derner owned the mound in the first round of the Northern Region Tournament at Mount Vernon on Monday. He threw four perfect innings — including 34 of his 46 pitches for strikes — before coach Jody Rutherford pulled him to preserve his arm for later in the week. He struck out 7 of the 12 batters he faced. Rutherford said pre-game that Derner, who suffered an injury to his throwing shoulder while snowboarding last winter, was due for a breakout game.

No. 3 –– One and Dun’ham
Northern Region, Virginia
— South County junior pitcher Chelsea Dunham dominated the center circle on Friday, twirling a 13-strikeout, 1-hit complete-game shutout as the Stallions won their third-straight Patriot District championship. South County beat Annandale, 1-0.

No. 2 –– Madness? 
Loudoun County, Virginia
— Broad Run girls’ soccer continues its historic tear. The Spartans, ranked No. 4 nationally by ESPNRise, are 18-0-1 after winning the Dulles District title. Broad Run beat the only team, Loudoun County, that earned a point against it, 2-1, thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Caitlin Hunter and Rachel Tharp in overtime. In its 2-0, championship win over Heritage, Hunter earned her 58th career clean sheet, a VHSL record.

No. 1 — Bailey’s Crossroads
Northern Region, Virginia
— On Wednesday night, Langley lacrosse was making its seventh all-time appearance in the Northern Region championship — its fourth under current coach Earl Brewer — but had yet to win a title. It took two overtimes, but the Saxons earned their historic, 6-5 over the Rams when junior attackman Ethan Bailey scored this game-winner with 3:02 left in the second, sudden-victory overtime period.

Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

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By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Editor
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area

Click the links above for all photos and videos from the PDL game! All videos posted at 9 p.m.!

In its second home game of the season, Northern Virginia had Hampton Roads on the ropes early, but quickly felt the bite of the Piranhas on a fluke of a goal.

The Royals and Piranhas drew, 1-1, in the USL Premiere Developmental League match held at Fairfax High School on Saturday.

Still, Royal coach Tom Torres hopes the point at home against a quality side will spur his team, which stands at 0-2-2 through four games.

“It’s a tough one because they didn’t have a lot of subs and we thought we could try and get behind them a little bit,” said Torres, also the current coach at Westfield. “Fortunately, we got a point out of it. Obviously, we would have rather gotten the win.

“We thought being the home team and having a decent crowd here, we were hoping to have a little bit better of a result. But that’s soccer, that’s why it’s cruel.”

But seven minutes in, a Northern Virginia counterattack gave it an earlier advantage on a goal by outside midfielder Ernie Marquez, a graduate from Woodbridge.

Striker — and Westfield alumnus — A.J. Sheta dribbled deep into the right channel before crossing to the top of the 18-yard box. Central midfielder Eber Martinez — a former Gar-Field standout — dummied the ball to central mid Yu Hoshide (YKK AP, Japan), who rattled the far post with a first-time shot.

Marquez was ready for the rebound, though, 13 yards out for the open-goal finish.

It was in the 17th minute, though, that Hampton Roads equalized on an uncontested header by Robert Foglesong (Old Dominion) after a long throw-in by Edward Floyd (Central Connecticut State).

“When you lose the ball in the middle of the field, it’s tough to recover when the other team countering,” Torres said. “With the low numbers, they played low pressure and the expected to get behind us on the counter.

“A low throw, a missed mark and a free header from six to eight yards, it’s unfortunate … We probably could have been more organized and more disciplined with our marking, but it is what it is.”

While disappointed over the tie with the Piranhas (1-1-1), Torres hopes the point against the team that won the league two of the last three years will help the confidence of his side.

The Royals feature defender Mike Green, who played at the University of Virginia and with the Kansas City Wizards of the MLS; Mo Hughes, who played the University of Alabama-Birmingham and with the Atlanta Silverbacks of the USL; and a number of other local stars.

The 16-game season lasts through mid-July, which includes six more home games, highlights NCAA, professional and semipro talent, much of which was bred in Washington, D.C. area high schools.

“It’s local, right in the heart of Fairfax and we also have a Hellwig location for our Prince William players,” said Torres, in his first season coaching Northern Virginia. “We just want to get as many people out here as we can. We had some drums here today, but it’d be nice to get a few more people out. I think it’s a good opportunity to see a decent level of play.

“We’ve got about 15 guys in our pool that played locally in high school, in Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia. It’s a great opportunity to see what some of those guys are doing if you can’t get to their colleges far away. But we’ve also got a lot of local college guys and a lot of local coaches that continue to play, as well.”

Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

*Northern Virginia Royals website
*PDL.USLSoccer.com

Hampton Roads     (1-1-1)   1  0  —  1
Northern Virginia    (0-2-2)   1  0  —  1

Goals:                 
NV — Marquez (7)
HR — R. Foglesong (17)

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Softball Top 10
Rankings and records as of May 18

1. McDonough (17-0) — LW: 2
Rams enter Maryland 2A semifinals having surrendered just one run all season. Senior Melanie Mitchell pitched third perfect game of season in 17-strikeout, 2-0 win over Howard County power Hammond in 2A South semifinals last Wednesday, and followed with 6-0 shutout of Gwynn Park on Friday in regional final.

2. Battlefield (18-1) — LW: 1
Dropped first game of season 4-3 to Loudoun Valley on May 8, but the Bobcats bounced back to win next three including a 10-0 shutout of Loudoun Valley on May 14.

3. South County (21-1) — LW: 4
Defeated Lee and West Potomac by combined 18-0 count in Patriot District tournament last week.

4. Broad Run (17-2) — LW: 6
Shut out three opponents last week by a combined 17-0, including 1-0 wins over Park View and Potomac Falls.

5. Northern (16-2) — LW: 9
Defending Maryland 3A state champ avenged one of season’s losses with 3-1 win over No. 7 Huntingtown in 3A South final. Patriots open defense of championship with state semfinal showdown with Fallston on Tuesday.

6. Loudoun Valley (17-2) — LW: 7
Had huge 4-3 win over Battlefileld on May 8, but dropped most recent encounter with the No. 2 Bobcats 10-0 last Thursday.

7. Huntingtown (16-1) — LW: 3
Hurricanes’ season came to an end with 3-1 loss to county rival and defending state champion Northern in 3A South championship game last Friday.

8. Sherwood (16-1) — LW: NR
Warriors defeated Gaithersburg 5-4 to win the 4A West. Will play North Carroll in Maryland 4A semifinals on Tuesday.

9. Yorktown (14-2) — LW: NR
Offense has been rolling, as team outscored opponents 42-3 in three wins last week.

10. Briar Woods (15-4) — LW: NR 
Falcons went 3-0 last week, including a 1-0 win over Potomac Falls.


Others Receiving Consideration
Damascus (13-2)
C.H. Flowers (16-1)
Hayfield (16-3)
Madison (16-4)
McLean (18-4)
Bishop O’Connell (21-4)
Saint Mary’s Ryken (18-4)
Stone Bridge (15-5)
Westfield (15-5)

**Rankings include teams from Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Prince William County, the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference and the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS
May 4

April 27

April 20

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Baseball Top 10
Rankings and records as of May 18

1. Westfield (18-1) — LW: 1
Continued to cruise with shutouts of then-No. 3 Chantilly and Centreville last week.

2. West Springfield (17-4) — LW: 2
Riding an 11-game win streak, have not dropped game in over a month.

3. Quince Orchard (17-4) — LW: 9
Cougars defeated Whitman 7-2 in last week’s Maryland 4A West final. Will play Linganore in a 4A state semifinal on Tuesday.

4. Paul VI (19-8) — LW: NR
Panthers came from behind to beat Bishop Ireton for WCAC championship after knocking off St. John’s in semifinals.

5. Bowie (16-1) — LW: 8
Bulldogs rolled through Maryland 4A South playoffs, winning their three games by an average of 10 runs per game. Won’t be so easy in Tuesday’s state semifinals against Severna Park, as Bowie will attempt to prove itself.

6. Osbourn Park (16-3) — LW: 5
Has won three straight after a loss to Osbourn on May 9.

7. McLean (17-4) — LW: NR
Took a five-game winning streak into Monday’s showdown with Stone Bridge.

8, Huntingtown (12-2-1) — LW: 4
SMAC champion was upset by county rival and eventual Maryland 3A South champion Northern in regional playoffs.

9. Potomac Falls (17-3) — LW: NR
Panthers had won 10 in a row entering the week.

10. North Point (16-4) — LW: 10
Eagles reached first regional final in school history, but were upset 3-1 by River Hill in Maryland 2A South championship game.


Others Receiving Consideration
Calvert (13-6)
Chantilly (16-5)
Damascus (13-3)
DeMatha (17-8)
Bishop Ireton (15-12)
Lake Braddock (14-5)
North Point (16-4)
Northwest (12-4)
Paint Branch (15-4)
St. John’s (15-6)
South County (16-5)
Stone Bridge (17-4)
Walt Whitman (14-4)

PREVIOUS RANKINGS
May 4

April 27

April 20

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Created by Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Editor
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area

Top 10 Plays — May 11-17, 2009

Click
the video on the left for the full countdown of the Top 10 plays from
across the seven DigitalSports territories in the greater Washington,
D.C. Metro area.

You can also view the full list of top plays
below. Click on the titles to view the individual, unedited highlights
at respective homepages.

Check back every Monday morning for the new Top 10 countdown from around the metropolitan area.

To nominate and upload plays or accomplishments from your school:

**CLICK HERE**

Honorable Mentions (in no order):
Man on a Miscione — As part of his hat trick in Stone Bridge’s 3-0, Liberty District semifinal win over Langley, Bulldog junior Mikey Herndon finsihes on a one-hop assist from senior goalkeeper Matt Miscione. Herndon is tied for the all-time single-season goal record with 14 this year.
Vieira Game-Winning 10-Pitch AB — Potomac sophomore Kyle Vieira battled through a 10-pitch at-bat before stroking this game-winning base hit against Woodbridge to break a 3-3 tie. More from this game in the countdown.
Denson Caps Complete-Game Two-Hitter — Dominion senior Jessie Denson caps the complete-game, two-hitter against Potomac Falls as the Titans defeat the third-ranked Panthers, 1-0. Denson struck out 12 batters in the win.
Monster Moosh — South County senior Mojtaba Amin equalizes against upstart Hayfield in the 73rd minute on this diving header from a free kick by senior Willie Roque. Six minutes later, Stallion senior Max Kleess netted the game-winning goal to lift South County to its first-ever Patriot District title.
Rogers’ Neighborhood — In the girls soccer Dulles District quarterfinal, No. 3 Potomac Falls
was in danger of falling to No. 6 Freedom, trailing 1-0, when Jenna
Marzin tied it with in the 78th minute. Then, after a scoreless 10-minute
overtime, they went to sudden death and Mary Shea Rogers wins a
scramble in front of the net after a long throw-in … Golden Goal!
Brant, No Soup for You! — DeMatha senior goalie Ryan Brant made one save, but was caught out-of-position for the follow up shot. But no matter, he flies across the
goal to make a sprawling save to keep the Stags in the WCAC final. DeMatha came from behind to beat St. Mary’s Ryken, 9-7.
Lechner to Lechner Winner — Good Counsel junior Shannon Lechner passes to sophomore
sister Kelly Lechner, who takes a couple steps and scores the
game-winning goal with :20.4 seconds left in a second overtime to beat
Bishop Ireton, 12-11, for the WCAC championship. It’s Good Counsel’s
sixth-straight WCAC crown.

No. 10 –– Tony Tushy
Prince George’s County, Maryland
— Bowie senior pitcher Tony Cerverizzo allowed four first-inning runs to High Point in the 4A South regional final, but retired the next 15 batters in order, including this one from his backside. The Bulldogs beat the Eagles, 13-5, to clinch a berth in the state tournament.

No. 9 –– Full Nelson    1    2
Prince William County, Virginia
— Osbourn junior Nelson Almendares scored twice — in the 61st and 83rd minutes — to lift his club to a win over Osbourn Park, 2-1, on Monday. It was the Eagles’ first win in the series in five years and the Yellow Jackets’ first loss of the season.

No. 8 — Waiz F8
Northern Region, Virginia
— In the first game of the Liberty District semifinal doubleheader, Woodson CF Max Waizenegger lays out, face-first, to rob Stone Bridge 2B Spencer Rositano of a base hit. But Bulldog starting pitcher — and District Player of the Year — Johnny Bladel dominated on the mound, and Stone Bridge won, 4-3, on Saturday to advance to the league title game.

No. 7 –– Collins Plucks Ricochet

Independent Schools, Maryland
— In the IAC title game, Georgetown Prep attackman Brian Casey is stuck behind the Landon cage with a defender shadowing him. But he dodges to find an opening and fire a wrap-around shot that ricochets off the post. Hoya senior Matt Collins grabs the ball out of the sky and fires it past the Bear goalkeeper, as Prep wins the IAC tournament, 11-3.

No. 6 –– I Wish that I Had Jessie’s Goal
Northern Region, Virginia
— In late April, West Springfield beat South County, 8-0. In the Patriot District championship on Friday, there was only one Spartan goal, but it was pretty impressive. West Springfield senior Jessie Gonzalez scored on a 41-yard free kick in the 33rd minute to lift the Spartans to their third-consecutive district title.

No. 5 –– Begleys Can’t Be Choosers
Montgomery County, Maryland — Sherwood sophomore Michael Begley dove around the Wootton goalkeeper for one of his four goals in the 4A West Region final and finishes it with a partial, on-the-ground handstand. More coming from this game … next.

No. 4 –– Jutkowitz Through Wickets
Montgomery County, Maryland — Patriot senior Mark Jutkowitz — committed to the University of Maryland — sweeps a smooth, between-the-legs pass to faceoff man Michael Brailovsky for a goal in Wootton’s 13-9 win over Sherwood for its fourth-straight regional championship.

No. 3 –– PW Defensive Trio    1    2    3
Prince William County, Virginia
— In three of a handful of outstanding defensive plays that littered this late regular-season game between Woodbridge and Potomac, arm strength was evidenced in the outs available at the link on the title. Panther LF Tyler Covington, C Edgar Quinones and Viking RF Michael Lott made the highlight, but there were several more worthy defensive plays in Potomac’s 4-3 win.

No. 2 –– Savage Ending
W.C.A.C., Maryland
— The WCAC championship between Paul VI and Bishop Ireton began at Boyie Baysox Stadium on Monday, but was postponed through five innings due to rain. It was continued on Wednesday at Annandale and ended in style. With one out, trailing by a run and the go-ahead run on second base in the bottom of the seventh inning, Cardinal pinch hitter Brian Lewis hit what, at first, appeared to be a walk-off single. But Panther shortstop Dan Savage made a leaping catch to rob Lewis, then stomped on second base for the unassisted, game-ending — league-winning — double play.

No. 1 — Perfection Squared
Mitchell 0.07
S.M.A.C., Maryland — McDonough senior Melanie Mitchell pitched her third perfect game of the season — this time against Hammond in the 2A South semifinals. Mitchell struck out 17 Golden Bears, who were ranked No. 6 in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area. Mitchell and the Rams have surrendered only one
run all season, coming to La Plata in a 2-1, extra-inning game. McDonough will play Easton in the 2A state semifinals at Bachman Park
in Glen Burnie on Tuesday.

Hoover Perfect Game
Northern Region, Virginia
— Westfield sophomore Aaron Hoover threw a perfect game against Centreville in the Concorde District semifinals in the top-ranked Bulldogs’ 3-0 win on Friday. Hoover struck out four Wildcats, forced 11 to ground out, six to fly out and only let three batters reach three-ball counts. All that only required 63 pitches — three per batter — to complete as Westfield advanced to the district championship game.

Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com

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By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Editor
Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area

*Click HERE for the story and highlights from the first five innings on Monday.*

For the WCAC championship between Bishop Ireton and Paul VI to reach its completion, it took three days, two stadiums and two states.

But the continuation of the final at Annandale High School on Wednesday swung violently in the Panthers’ favor in only four pitches.

Play had been suspended on Monday at the Bowie Baysox Stadium in Bowie, Md., after five innings with the Cardinals ahead, 3-2.

After the first pitch of the sixth inning — and the afternoon — a ground out to short by Panther senior outfielder Cody Reeves, junior pinch hitter Tyler Costello launched the third pitch of his at-bat over the left-field wall, incoming wind notwithstanding.

Costello then belted what proved the game- and league-winning sacrifice fly in the seventh, as Paul VI beat Bishop Ireton, 4-3, for its second WCAC title in the last three seasons.

Seventh-year Panther coach Billy Emerson guessed correctly on a Cardinal move to the bullpen and prepared both of his designated hitters for the switch in advance.

“Charles Deacon is second-team All-WCAC DH and he’s a left-handed hitter,” said Emerson, who coached at Annandale — site of the championship game — in 1999. “We use Charles most of the time against the right-handed pitchers. And they brought in the lefty. We talked last night and we told Tyler that we thought they were going to play the lefty today. That’s what they had left.

“We told Tyler, ‘You’re probably going to be hitting second’ … Tyler’s got the propensity to hit the long ball, that’s his specialty … If we don’t get that there, we might be walking out of here with it, 3-2.”

Added Costello, who has two of his three home runs in the playoffs: “In the dugout, I was thinking, ‘If Cody gets on, then all I’m going to do is bunt him over. No big deal.’ But he doesn’t get on and I go up there. I’ve got to figure out a way to get on base.

“I get up 2-0 and I look down at Coach [Tad] Davidovich and he gives me a sign to look for a pitch right down the middle. I got one and I just swung for the fences.”

Subbing in Costello was not Emerson’s only gamble on Wednesday.

Bishop Ireton rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning, moving the tying runner to third base with the go-ahead — and conference-winning run — on second.

Emerson moved the infield in on Cardinal pinch hitter Brian Lewis with one out, hoping to prevent the tying run on a ground ball. But after three pitches, Emerson called his Panthers back, reducing the risk of a line-drive single.

On the first pitch after the move, Lewis hit a sharp liner toward left-center, but Paul VI shortstop Dan Savage leaped to interception the shot. With the base runners in motion on contact, Savage dashed to vacant second base for the championship-clinching, unassisted double play.

“Just the pitch before, I was playing infield-in all the way to try to get the runner out at home,” said Savage, who was 2-for-4 with a double in the two-day title game. “Then, Coach goes, ‘You know what, play medium depth.’ And I did. Sure enough it came right to me.

“I just leapt up and grabbed it … It feels great to get that win and be right on top.”

Added Emerson, whose team has won 15 of its last 17 games: “You roll the dice and sometimes things work out. We initially had our infield in and, when we got two strikes on the hitter, we moved them back. The guy hits a line drive the next pitch he moves back. That’s baseball.

“Sometimes you go with things and it makes you look bad. And then sometimes you go with things and they work out. It was just that kind of day for us, things working out.”

Timely fortune has been characteristic of Paul VI this season. It started 5-7 overall, 2-6 against the WCAC, before a cataclysmic turnaround.

And having reached the conference title game in four of the last five seasons, playoff runs have become the norm.

Even with their backs up against the wall on Monday in Bowie, the Panthers were bailed out by rain showers when the Cardinals grabbed the impetus — and the lead — after an error came around to score in the home half of the fifth inning.

But a change of scenery — and 48 hours — revitalized Paul VI.

“It actually felt like the sixth inning,” Savage said of the mid-game restart. “The dugout was loud; it was loud as I’d ever heard it before. It was really great to get that from them.”

Added Emerson: “On the bus ride home from the Baysox stadium, we kind of felt like the Lord was looking out for us, because He stopped the momentum right there. They had it all.”

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Boys Lacrosse Top 10
*Rankings as of May 15

1.    Georgetown Prep (20-3/LW 2)
Despite having to share the IAC title with Landon, the Little Hoyas proved they are the area’s best team with a blowout win in the tournament final.
2.    Landon (18-4/LW 1)
It was still an extremely good season for the Bears. Not many people expected them to beat Prep the first time.
3.    DeMatha (15-6/ LW 3)
The Stags finally avenged a conference finals loss to St. Mary’s Ryken from 2007 and have now won back-to-back WCAC titles.
4.    St. Albans (14-6-1/LW 4)
IAC is over but on to play against the private schools starting with St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes.
5.    St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (13-5-1/LW 5)
The Saints barely lost to Landon, 4-2, in the IAC semis.
6.    Wootton (17-0/LW 6)
Wootton won its fourth straight 4A West region championship. Can the Patriots take the next step and reach the state semis?
7.    Chantilly (13-1/LW 8)
The Chargers still haven’t lost in Virginia but got a major scare from Westfield. Chantilly won 5-4 in double OT. Up next is Langley on Monday.
8.    St. Mary’s Ryken (13-4-1/LW 9)
The Knights couldn’t get their second WCAC title in three years but it was still a very successful season.
9.    Huntingtown (12-2/LW 7)
The Hurricanes’ season is over after a 17-10 loss to Severna Park in the 4A/3A East region playoffs. But that was about as hard a semifinals opponent as they could have seen.
10.    Langley (16-1/LW NR)
Langley avenged its only Virginia loss by beating Madison by three goals and has now won six straight games.

Also Receiving Votes:
Good Counsel (10-8)
Loudoun Valley (15-2)
Madison (11-3)
Sherwood (11-3)
W.T. Woodson (11-4)


Previous Rankings:
April 24
April 30
May 7

**Rankings
include teams from Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax County, Loudoun
County, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Southern Maryland Athletic Conference, the Washington
Catholic Athletic Conference and Prince William County.

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Girls Lacrosse Top 10
*Rankings and records as of May 14

1. St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (23-2) — LW: 1
The Saints’ four-game winning streak has included a 13-2 win over No. 4 Bullis, a 14-4 win over Georgetown Visitation, a 17-2 win over Sidwell Friends and a 19-3 win over Bishop O’Connell.

2. Good Counsel (18-2) — LW: 2
The Falcons recently beat Washington Catholic Athletic Conference rival Bishop Ireton, 12-11, in double overtime.

3. Bishop Ireton (19-3) — LW: 3
Ireton dropped a close game to Good Counsel, but still sports a 19-3 record.

4. Bullis (19-5) — LW: 5
Recently lost second game of the year to St. Stephens & St. Agnes, but has won 5-of-6.

5. Loudoun Valley (16-0) — LW: 6
The Cedar Run District tournament was a breeze for the Vikings, beating opponents by a combined score of 54-9.

6. Chantilly (15-1) — LW: 4
A loss to Robinson knocked Chantilly out of the ranks of the unbeaten.

7. Robinson (10-3) — LW: NR
The Rams’ 9-8 win over Chantilly means that they need to be taken seriously. Robinson has only dropped one game this year to a Northern Region opponent.

8. Leonardtown (13-1) — LW: 7
Recently lost to South River to snap the Raiders’ 13-game winnings streak.

9. Holy Cross (9-5) — LW: 8
Two straight losses to No. 4 Bullis and No. 3 Bishop Ireton.

10. W.T. Woodson (11-3) — LW: NR
The Cavaliers only Northern Region loss this year was to No. 7 Robinson.

Also Receiving Votes
Walter Johnson (11-3)
Annandale (15-3)
Madison (14-2)
Winston Churchill (14-1)

**Rankings
include teams from Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax County, Loudoun
County, Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, the Washington
Catholic Athletic Conference and Prince William County.

Previous Rankings: April 15; April 22; April 29; May 6;
  
Comments? Contact Paul Frommelt at pfrommelt@digitalsports.com

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By Angela Watts
Assistant GM, Washington D.C. Metro Area

** Click the links to the left to access a full photo gallery and video highlights from Wednesday’s championship game!

There are inherent expectations that come with playing softball at Bishop O’Connell, one of the Washington-area’s most storied programs.

And, certainly, in playing for Knights’ Coach Tommy Orndorff, one of the area’s most successful and most respected coaches.

And Orndorff doesn’t shy away from letting his players know it.

“We talk about the history all the time, and it does put a great deal of pressure on the team,” Orndorff said. “But we play a schedule that gets us ready for this in May.”

It showed Wednesday afternoon at Catholic University as this young 2009 version of the Knights — which boasts only three seniors and only one of which who starts — did their part in adding to O’Connell’s already rich legacy.

O’Connell, which has recorded 20 wins or more in each of the past 17 seasons, also earned its sixth consecutive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship with a hard-fought, 1-0 victory over St. Mary’s Ryken (18-5 overall).

The win gives O’Connell (21-4 overall) a staggering 22 league championships in the past 24 years.

“We’re a young team,” Orndorff said. “But every time I walk out here my young kids surprise me. And they did today.”

Locked in a scoreless tie through two-and-a-half innings of play, O’Connell senior Tori Portell reached after being hit by a pitch. That brought sophomore Jessica Burk to the plate with one runner on and two out in the bottom of the third inning.

And, in the end, that was all that mattered.

Burk blasted an RBI triple down the right field line that scored Portell from first base for what proved the game-winner.

“It was a curve ball, and I tip my hat to her because she did a great thing,” St. Mary’s Ryken junior pitcher Stephanie Dameron said. “She took that curveball outside to right field. It was a great swing.”

St. Mary’s Ryken shortstop Erin Leddy made a spectacular grab to end the third inning — and, as Orndorff said, rob O’Connell of a second run — and then the pitching dual resumed. 

Dameron and O’Connell sophomore pitcher Jilly Falle both left batters struggling to get on base throughout the game.

Falle struck out 10 batters, yielded only two hits and walked none while retiring the side in the first, second, third, fifth and sixth innings. Dameron countered with four strikeouts, two hits, no walks and similarly retired the side in the first, second and fifth innings.

And with O’Connell still holding that slim, 1-0 lead headed into the top of the seventh inning, St. Mary’s Ryken Coach Scott Kuhns rallied his team and delivered one final message.

“No pressure,” Kuhns told his team. “No pressure. Just go out there and do your best.”

Then, he added: “But your best needs to be a hit.”

Dameron responded with her second hit of the game, this one a lead-off single to right field that brought the St. Mary’s Ryken fans to their feet.

“Jilly’s a competitor,” Orndorff said of his pitcher. “Her curve ball has tremendous movement and while her velocity seems to come-and-go, she was on today.

“But she’s also emotional. She got a little uptight there in the end after that hit. It shook her up a bit. But, at the same time, you see the way she responded in those last few at-bats. This was big for her.”

After a sacrifice bunt moved Dameron to second base, Falle recorded her 10th and final strikeout of the game before luring St. Mary’s Ryken’s final batter into a ground out to third base to seal the victory.

“To me, when it’s a game like today and a pitchers’ dual, it’s a beautiful sport,” Orndorff said. “But I’d much rather be back [where the fans are sitting] than in the dugout. Those types of games give me even more gray hairs.

“But for the sport of softball, and for the league itself, you couldn’t have asked for a better championship game. It’s pitching and defense at it’s best, and you saw that by both teams today.”

Email: awatts@digitalsports.com

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By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

The second a free position shot was called near the end of a second overtime in Tuesday’s WCAC girls lacrosse championship, junior Shannon Lechner shouted her sister’s name and made eye contact.

Shannon and sophomore sister Kelly Lechner simply made eye contact and nodded. They had practiced this exact moment for years in their back yard.

As soon as the whistle blew, Shannon passed to Kelly, who took three steps and slipped the game-winning goal into the top left corner with 20.4 seconds remaining to give Good Counsel a 12-11 win over Bishop Ireton at the University of Maryland’s Ludwig Field.

It’s Good Counsel’s sixth straight WCAC championship and second straight over the Cardinals. The win also marks Good Counsel’s 57th straight WCAC victory.

“She did all the work; I just kind of placed it in in the last second,” Kelly said. “We knew we were going to do something together.”

Kelly also scored the game-tying goal with 59.6 seconds left in the first overtime. She tallied four goals overall for the Falcons, while Shannon tallied one.

After being dominated in the first half, Good Counsel (18-2) held a three-goal lead with about five minutes left in regulation. That’s when Ireton dug in, scoring three straight and two by Ashton Hellmuth (5 goals) to tie the game with 2:18 remaining.

Hellmuth scored the first goal in overtime to give the Cardinals (18-3) their first lead since the first half, but Kelly had an answer.

“I knew if I got the pass there without a defender deflecting it that she would make the shot,” Shannon Lechner said.

Bishop Ireton had all the momentum early on, just as it did last year when the Cardinals took a five-goal lead at one point. The Cardinals dominated the draws and led 17-3 in shots with five minutes left in the first half.

But Bishop Ireton only had a two-goal lead at 5-3 to that point partially because it saw three shots go off the post but mostly because of Good Counsel junior goalie Christina Sheridan. Sheridan, who was recruited to play at Good Counsel by the Lechner sisters when Sheridan was in 7th grade, made 16 saves and was named the game’s MVP.

While Good Counsel scored on all three of its shots to that point and four of its first five, Ireton finished just five of its first 17 shots.

“I knew I had it in me and I knew my team had it in us,” Sheridan said. “It’s a little bit of pressure but you kind of get used to it being a goalie because there’s always going to be pressure.”

Good Counsel finally started to win some draws and went on a three-goal run to end the first half with a 6-5 lead, including two straight goals by Kelly Lechner. The Falcons then scored another three straight behind sophomores Caileigh Sindall (2 goals) and Caroline Scanlon (2 goals) to open the second half and take a 9-5 lead.

“We knew once we started getting the draws everything would pick up,” Shannon Lechner said.

“We definitely gained a lot of confidence but we definitely knew we didn’t have it,” Kelly Lechner added. “That showed when they kept creeping up on us. Ireton’s a great team and they gave us a run for our money.”

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