LACROSSE: Holy See-Saw Batman!
U-13 Girls Win Another One
April 26, 2010 by (see byline) · Leave a Comment
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
April 25, 2010 by Jane Johansen · 1 Comment
By JANE JOHANSENFalls Church Times Staff
April 25, 2010
Mason High Varsity Girls Lacrosse defeated Washington-Lee Generals 13-5 last Wednesday, upping their undefeated record to 8.
The Lady Mustangs struggled a bit in the first half as the Generals started the game fast with a motion-type offense, during which the score was often tied, and the first half ended with the score at 5-4 in favor of the Mustangs.
In the second half, the Mustangs increased their lead by wearing the Generals down in the midfield and working to improve their offensive passing game – and, to the credit of the defense and the goalie, by allowing only one goal to be scored by the Generals in the second half. While the Generals double and triple-teamed Abby Johansen and Gwen Edwards, the resilient Mustang offense adjusted by passing to the open players.
There were numerous assists resulting from the cooperative offense, including assists by Gwen Edwards, Amanda Rolander, Taylor Bottock, Abby Johansen, and Christina Perez. Senior midfielder Courtney Ready scored 5 goals, senior center Gwen Edwards scored 4, junior defender/midfielder Abby Johansen scored 3, and senior attack Christina Perez scored 1.
Defensively, Grace Kuipers led in ground balls with 6, and the Mustangs were able to keep the General’s scoring low with Chelsea Wilkes and Chantal Thomas outracing their opponents on fast breaks; and with Katrina Snyder and Abby Johansen getting a stick in to tip shots away from the cage. Senior goalie Meghan Powell saw lots of action in the cage making 12 saves to tie her personal best so far this season.
The Mustangs travel to Loudoun County High School April 26 to play the Loudoun County Raiders.
Winning over Freedom, GMHS Girls Lax Undefeated at 7
April 21, 2010 by Jane Johansen · Leave a Comment
GMHS Mustang senior attack Taylor Bottock (#1) carries the ball through the midfield while guarded by Freedom junior midfielder Megan Gluck (#12). Photo courtesy Jane Johansen.
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
April 21, 2010 by Special to the Falls Church Times · Leave a Comment
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!
GMHS Girls Lacrosse Ups Undefeated Record to 6 Wins
April 19, 2010 by Jane Johansen · Leave a Comment
By JANE JOHANSEN
Falls Church Times Staff
April 19, 2010
The George Mason High School Varsity Girls Lacrosse Team preserved their undefeated record, increasing it to 6 wins by shutting out the Park View Patriots 18-0 last Thursday.
Junior attack Amanda Rolander tallied the first goal of the game just 58 seconds in. With the score at the half at 12-0, the George Mason Lady Mustangs were able to give lots of playing time to the bench, rotating in all players numerous times. Senior goalie Meghan Powell completed 5 saves in the first half, but saw no further action the remainder of the game as the Mustang defense allowed no other shots on goal from the Patriots. Junior midfielder Abby Johansen led the Mustang scoring with 4 goals, followed by senior center Gwen Edwards with 3, Taylor Bottock, Kelly Ready, and Rolander with 2 goals each, and Michelle DeMars, Grace Kuipers, Christina Perez, Courtney Ready , and Chantal Thomas with a goal each.
The Lady Mustangs play the Freedom High School Eagles today at 6 p.m.
GMHS Girls Lacrosse Defeats West Potomac High
April 18, 2010 by Jane Johansen · Leave a Comment
By JANE JOHANSEN
Falls Church Times Staff
April 18, 2010
Mustang junior midfielder Vanessa Mann (#9) guards a West Potomac player (#12).
The George Mason High School Varsity Girls Lacrosse Team preserved their undefeated record, increasing it to 5 wins by besting the AAA West Potomac High School Wolverines on Monday, April 12th.
The George Mason Lady Mustangs initially trailed while the Wolverines scored two early goals in the first few minutes of the game. But after Head Coach Courtney Gibbons called a time out, the Mustangs caught up to tie it at 2 to 2. The Mustangs led for the rest of the game, with the score at the half at 9 to 4.
In the second half, the Mustangs kept scoring, increasing their lead at one point by 6 with a score of 14 to 8. The Wolverines began to rally, coming within 4 goals late in the game, but the Mustangs continued to prevail and the final score was 16 to 11 in favor of the Mustangs.
Senior goalie Meghan Powell completed 12 saves, a personal best for her so far this season.
A total of 9 Mustangs scored. Junior midfielder Abby Johansen led the Mustang scoring with 4 goals, followed by Taylor Bottock, Gwen Edwards, Courtney Ready and Amanda Rolander with 2 goals each; and Grace Kuipers, Vanessa Mann, Abby Perez and Christina Perez with a goal each. Senior defender Chelsea Wilkes won 7 ground balls, followed by Bottock and Edwards with 6 each, and Johansen with 5. The game seemed fraught with penalties, including 2 yellow cards for the Mustangs and 1 for the Wolverines; as well as a couple of “offside” calls going against the Wolverines.
Undefeated GMHS Girls Lacrosse Bests Broad Run 12 to 11
April 12, 2010 by Jane Johansen · Leave a Comment
Midfielders await the draw play by centers Gwen Edwards (far left) of GMHS and Mary Durham (#12) of Broad Run, while sky shows a coming storm
By JANE JOHANSEN
Falls Church Times Staff
April 12, 2010
The George Mason High School Varsity Girls Lacrosse Team defeated last year’s Dulles District Champions, the Broad Run High School Spartans, on Thursday, April 8, bringing the Lady Mustang’s record this season to 4 wins and no losses. The Lady Mustangs trailed the AA Spartans at the half with a score of 4 to 6.
After a requisite storm delay at the end of the first half due to a downpour and a bit of thunder, the teams re-commenced play with both offensive squads doggedly battling to score.
For most of the second half Broad Run held the lead, with the Mustangs behind by three goals at one point. Late in the second half, the Mustangs gained momentum to tie it at 10 goals each, only to have the Spartans score again to take the lead with 11. However, in the final three minutes of the game, the Mustangs rallied yet again to tie it at 11 each, and then junior midfielder Abby Johansen fired in a free position shot making it Mustangs 12 to the Spartans’ 11.
As the final seconds clicked off the score board, Broad Run was not giving up and attempted to rush toward scoring territory, but the George Mason defense and midfield was able to contain the play, with the Mason bench cheering jubilantly to celebrate their victory over the team that bested them last year in both regular season and district playoffs.
Senior goalie Meghan Powell completed 10 crucial saves. Senior center Gwen Edwards led the Mustang scoring with 6 goals, followed by Johansen with 4, and senior defender Chelsea Wilkes and junior attack Amanda Rolander with one each. Johansen muscled 7 ground balls; and Edwards and Wilkes each made key pass interceptions.
Falls Church Youth Lacrosse Club Spring Season Begins: U-13B Boys Game Summary
March 31, 2010 by Special to the Falls Church Times · Leave a Comment
Special to the Falls Church Times
The Falls Church Youth Lacrosse Club U13B Boys Red team began its 2010 season Saturday, March 27, against host Great Falls. Unfortunately, the Mustangs came out on the short end of a thrilling 5-4 game.
Opening day jitters seemed to affect the Falls Church players, falling behind 2-0 after the first quarter and 5-0 at halftime. The Mustangs did not give up, re-grouped at intermission, and rallied for three goals in the third quarter.
Nick Casillas scored the first goal for Falls Church on about a five-yard shot off of a nice pass from Connar Mulcahy. The second Falls Church goal was the nicest goal scored on the day, by either team.
Great Falls turned the ball over in their offensive zone. George Castillo received a pass from a teammate, which triggered a fast break. George, sprinting down the field, found Nick Casillas cutting toward the goal, passed Nick the ball, who shot and buried his second goal of the contest.
Connar Mulcahy closed the gap to 5-3 in the latter stages of the third quarter, on a point blank shot after he received a cross-crease pass from Nick Casillas.
In the fourth quarter, the Mustangs had several quality opportunities to tie the score, but were unable to find the back of the net.
Brendon Smith closed out the scoring for Falls Church late in the final stanza, when he received a pass from Conor O’Leary and beat the Great Falls goalie on a low shot, making it 5-4.
The Mustangs are off until Saturday, April 17, when they travel to Alexandria to square off against Fort Hunt.
