Double Trouble: U11 Girls Lacrosse Keeps on Winning

By STEPHEN HISCOTT
Special to the Falls Church Times

May 17, 2010

May 9 Win Over Alexandria, 11-6

During an exceptionally windy day at the Mason field, the girls exhibited outstanding teamwork, utilizing the skills and drive of all players.  Falls Church came out strong with a 3-1 position four minutes into the game, with the first three draws won by Claire Hiscott.  Likewise, Annette “iron curtain” Schlitt blocked six of the first eight shots on goal early in the first half, allowing Falls Church to keep momentum in their favor.  She maintained a tight grip on the goal throughout the game, with support from many, including Erin Barth, Olivia Cipriano and Anna DuBro at key moments of the game.

Amy Roche and Lydia Grund won several ground balls, continuing strong momentum by Falls Church.  Bridgett Rorrer had a key ground ball win late in the first half, to avoid scoring from an aggressive drive by Alexandria.  Mackenzie Cogar had an outstanding interception and assist (her second of the game) to a goal by Victoria Rund.

Beginning the first half, Cindy Lay picked up a strong ground ball recovery and darted toward the offensive end of the field – now a signature move and strong asset for the team.  Alexa Tracy and Sarah Maller delivered goals.  Mackenzie Cogar, Meredith Johnson and Lauren Wever scored doubles.  Claire Hiscott scored three goals.  In addition, there were several strong shots on goal, keeping Alexandria on their heels, including Claire Trundle and three from Bridgett.

May 16: Defeats Dulles South 12-6

Another victory for Falls Church Girls U11, hosted by Dulles South, brings their season record to 6-1.  Falls Church won the first three draws and came out strong, countered by early, aggressive offensive play from Dulles South.  The game was opened with a warm welcome from the Dulles South coach, along with encouragement of sportsmanship and positive crowd support.

The team had excellent coordination across the field, with phenomenal ground ball wins from Kalena Wojtola, Cindy Lay, Mackenzie Cogar and particularly strong passing from Olivia Cipriano and Lydia Grund.  Goals were delivered by Elizabeth Dodge, Bridgett Rorrer and Victoria Rund and two goals each from Amy Roche, Meredith Johnson and Claire Trundle and a hat trick (3) from Claire Hiscott.

As the team has come to anticipate, there was excellent goal defense from Annette Schlitt with several one-on-one stops, during direct rushes from Dulles South, as they sought to obtain momentum.  Erin Barth, Alexa Tracy and Ranel Marshall had very strong defensive support, enabling Annette to avoid additional aggressive attacks.

In addition, the Falls Church coaches provided strong support for the team and encouraged teamwork, passing and moving the ball aggressively throughout the game.

LACROSSE: U-13 Lady Mustangs Unbridled

By HANK DONNELLY
Special to the Falls Church Times

May 11, 2010

This week Falls Church’s opponent was South County. To say that the Mustangs dominated the game is an understatement. Over the course of 40 minutes of play South County was able to score only once. In the same span Falls Church scored 21 times. The statistics tell it all.

The Mustangs won over 41 contested ground balls with five players (Claire Tourkin, Keelyn Leonard, Maria Torregrosa, Rae Mondragon, and Sarah Lubnow) winning four or more.

Seven players (Ava McDonald, Caroline Duffett, Caroline Kerrigan, Hannah Hiscott, Maddie Hof, Rachel Barrett, and Sarah Lubnow) each scored two or more goals. With additional goals scored by Clio Dinan, Maria Torregrosa, and Rae Mondragon.

Falls Church had five assists with Keelyn Leonard accounting for four(!!) of them.

In the goal, Taylor Gagnon, had an 80% save average.

By half time the score was 12-1.

Strong defensive performances were delivered by Amy Rock, Lauren Wilson, Claire Mooney, Erin McMillan, and Veronica Llamas, frequently forcing turnovers and intercepting passes then quickly bringing the ball upfield back in to the offensive end where Maeve Donnelly and Tatianna Olson provided key support and helped to control the ball.

Falls Church now stands 6-0 heading into what are likely to be their two toughest opponents (Braddock Road and Springfield) to battle it out for first place in the division.

Ride Mustangs! RIDE!

U-11 Lady Mustang LAX Club Earns 4th Win

By LIZ WHEELER and DEBBIE SCHANTZ-HISCOTT
Special to the Falls Church Times

May 7, 2010

The Falls Church Youth Lacrosse Club U11 girls’ team stampeded their way to another win this past weekend, 9-7 over Vienna, improving their season record to 4-1.  The team’s strong defense was led by rookie goalie, Annette Schlitt.  Schlitt had incredible stops, an excellent save percentage and tallied four crucial saves in the last three minutes to ensure victory.  Aiding the defensive effort against a quick Vienna squad were Meghan Murphy, Olivia Cipriano, Kalena Wojtola, Erin Barth, Lydia Grund, Kaylee Hirsch, Clara Cobb and Amy Roche.

Stellar “deny defense” from Cindy Lay shut down the opponent’s strongest player, particularly in the tight last ten minutes of the game.  Interceptions and knock down passes from Amy Roche, Lydia Grund, Anna Dubro, Meredith Johnson and Claire Hiscott kept the ball moving toward the Mustangs’ offensive end of the field.   Solid midfield transition play by Lizzy Dodge, Kalena Wojtola, Olivia Cipriano, Amy Roche, Lydia Grund, Bridget Rorrer, Anna Dubro, Cindy Lay, Meredith Johnson, Mackenzie Cogar and Claire Hiscott kept the pace in favor of the Mustangs.

Offensively, Claire Hiscott had control of the draw all game, which led to consistent team possession and the ultimate victory.  Additionally, Hiscott scored three goals, Lauren Wever and Meredith Johnson netted two goals each, and Elizabeth Kerrigan and Bridgett Rorrer each added a score as well.  Lauren Wever’s assit to Meredith Johnson was a textbook play which pleased the strong coaching staff of Liz Wheeler, Joanna Culkin, Sarah Barth, Amy Casillas and Danielle Cogar.

Solid cuts to the ball from Sarah Maller, Erin Barth and Mackenzie Cogar aided the movement of the ball.  Speed and hustle from Claire Trundle and Spencer Donley provided excellent ground ball pick-ups.  The girls demonstrated team play in a well-rounded effort.   The girls have three more regular season games and can be seen in action this Sunday, May 9th, at GMHS field at 12:30pm followed by the undefeated U13 girls’ team.  Go Mustangs!

LACROSSE: U13 Boys Improve in 2nd Season at ‘A’ Level

By JANE JOHANSEN
Falls Church Times Staff

May 1, 2010

The Falls Church Youth Lacrosse Club’s Boys U13 A team started its second season with a win of 3-2 against Herndon. The team played a solid, hard fought game for its opener against an experienced Herndon zone defense. Goalie Dan Dusenberry made many great saves. The Falls Church defense stayed in position and didn’t give up any easy shots. Offensively, Falls Church handled the ball well and showed patience against a tightly packed Herndon defense. Eriksen Johansen scored 2 and Sean Fitzgerald scored 1.

Since then the team has suffered another couple of losses, to Algonkian 3 to 5, and then to Manassas Battlefield 3 to 7. Scores were contributed by Fitzgerald, Jackson Cogar, Miles Cobb, and Johansen.

Against Annandale last Saturday, Falls Church lost by a score of 3 to 10. Cogar, Fitzgerald, and Brandon Ward each scored. Despite the lopsided score, the team didn’t give up and played a spirited, fun game with Annandale. Head Coach Dave Cogar summed it up optimistically, “We hope to keep building on these experiences and our energetic practices to grow as a team.”

This is only the team’s second year playing the in the A level and it is the first Falls Church U13 Boys team to ever play in the A level. In previous years, Falls Church never had enough players to field two teams at U13. But, after winning the U11B championship in 2008, the players and coaches decided to give it a shot. Last year, their first year at the A level, the team struggled and went 0-8-1. So this season the team hopes to improve that record and is already on its way with a current record of 1 win and 3 losses.

The Mustang U13A team next travels to Clifton to take on Braddock Road U13A on Sunday.

LACROSSE: Holy See-Saw Batman!
U-13 Girls Win Another One

By HANK DONNELLY
Special to the Falls Church Times

April 26, 2010

The U-13 Lady Mustangs faced their first really challenging opponent this past Sunday in the form of the team from Stafford. Falls Church scored first, when Caroline Kerrigan ducked in from the offense taking a pass from Claire Tourkin and sliding one past the Stafford goalie. Not to be outdone Stafford responded with two quick goals to go ahead 2-1 and place the Mustangs in the unusual position of not leading for the first time this year.

After much back and forth, midfielders Claire Tourkin and Clio Dinan tallied two, to first pull even and then step back out in front. However, Stafford answered back with a third goal sending the teams to the interval tied 3-3. Coming out from half time the Mustangs surged forward scoring three goals, two by Rae Mondragon followed by another by Maeve Donnelly. Stafford however fought back hard scoring three goals and tieing up the game 6-6.

Clio Dinan was dominating the draws and providing outstanding checking, but although the Mustangs were working the ball well, aggressive play by Stafford was preventing Falls Church from capitalizing. However the same was true for Stafford. Although Stafford was scoring goals, they were being turned back from many of their opportunities by solid defensive plays by Lauren Wilson, Erin McMillan, Maria Torregrosa, Ava McDonald, Caroline Duffet, and Veronica Llamas.

Truly clutch goal work was being provided by Maddie Hof, with some key 8m-shot saves and an overall 53% save average. In the midfield, Amy Rock, Hannah Hiscott, Claire Mooney, Rachel Barrett were applying more and more pressure to Stafford and wearing down the opposing midfielders.

Going into the final few minutes the game was tied, when Rae Mondragon scored two more goals (her third and fourth of the day) with support and assistance from Keelyn Leonard and Tatianna Olson. Up two goals with less than two minutes remaining Stafford fought back tallying a seventh and bringing the score to 8-7 with 40 seconds to go. Falls Church hung on with good defensive play and stretched it out to the final horn. But what a nail biter!!! Good game, Mustangs!

GMHS Girls Lacrosse Beat Washington-Lee for 8-0 Record

Winning over Freedom, GMHS Girls Lax Undefeated at 7

By JANE JOHANSEN
Falls Church Times Staff

On Monday, April 19, the George Mason High School Varsity Girls Lacrosse Team won a hard fought game against the Freedom High School Eagles, by a score of 12 to 8; and with that win, they have brought their undefeated record to 7. At half time the score was Mason 6 to Freedom 3. In the second half, the Eagles began an offensive rally to try to close the gap. But that was to no avail as the Mason Mustangs made adjustments on defense and continued to answer with scores of their own. Senior center Gwen Edwards scored 4 goals, junior defender/midfielder Abby Johansen and sophomore attack Abby Perez scored 2 each, and Taylor Bottock, Grace Kuipers, Courtney Ready, and Chelsea Wilkes scored 1 each. Senior goalie Meghan Powell saw lots of action in the cage with the Eagles taking over 20 shots on goal, and she made 11 saves.

The Mustangs next play the Washington-Lee Generals at home on Wednesday the 21st, then travel to Loudoun County High School on Monday the 26th (moved from Thursday to Monday) to play the Loudoun County Raiders.

LACROSSE: U-13 Lady Mustangs Roll Fort Hunt Rival

BY HANK DONNELLY
Special to the Falls Church Times

April 21, 2010

Falls Church took the Mustang show on the road this week for their first away game against perennial rival Fort Hunt. Always an aggressive and physical team, Fort Hunt was stunned to find themselves down 4-0 after only a couple of minutes with rapid fire goals by Sarah Lubnow, a doublet by Caroline Kerrigan, and Hannah Hiscott. Fort Hunt capitalized on the free draw given because of the Substantial Advantage rule (invoked when one team is winning by four goals) and scored a goal in response.

They then followed this with another tally, bringing the score after 5 minutes to 4-2 in favor of Falls Church. At this point defenders Rae Mondragon, Lauren Wilson, Amy Rock, Erin Mc Millan, Veronica Llamas, and Rachel Barret brought the defensive hammer down for the remainder of the game. For 35 minutes all the way to the final horn Fort Hunt was able to score only once. Time and time again as the Fort Hunt struggled to penetrate from the midfield and the offense, the Mustangs responded with “Not today”. The few shots that they managed on the goal were ably saved by Caroline Duffet who boasted a near 60% save average.

At this point the Mustangs began to stretch out their legs on offense with another goal by Hannah Hiscott followed by one from Maddie Hof. At the interval the Mustangs had re-asserted their four goal lead at 6-2. Not to rest on their laurels, Falls Church came out of the break snorting and stomping. Caroline Kerrigan scored first and then Rae Mondragon (who had moved up to midfield) then proceeded to score four(!) more in succession, with Sarah Lubnow rounding out an even dozen. At the same time midfielders Claire Tourkin, Clio Dinan, Claire Mooney, and Ava Mc Donald were everywhere, all the time continuously frustrating their opponents, forcing errs, and sucking up loose balls. Maeve Donnelly, Keelyn Leonard, and Tatianna Olson supported the offensive drives with Keelyn tallying an assist.

Falls Church had simply overwhelmed their opponent finishing 12-3, and leaving Fort Hunt wondering exactly what had happened. Roll, Mustangs, Roll!

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