Langley High School | Archive | April, 2011

Hat-tricks from Adams and Sandusky in 14-5 Win

April 28, 2011 — The Langley Saxons assured themselves top spot in the Liberty District going into the play-off phase of the season with a convincing 14-5 victory this past Thursday evening over a fighting McLean Highlander squad that worked hard battling its local Liberty foe. 

The Saxons (8-2 overall, 6-0 in District) still have one district game remaining on the schedule — that a road game on Saturday afternoon against the Thomas Jefferson Colonials (4-3, 3-2).  But even with a loss to the Colonials, Langley would still have the best district record among all Liberty teams, and with that, number one seed for the district tournament and a home game against the Fairfax Rebels (0-7, 0-11) to open its play-off campaign.

In the McLean-town clash, Langley attackmen Mike Adams and Jack Sandusky each delivered a hat trick, while junior attacker Sean Ahearn provided one goal.  Six Saxon middies also scored, with senior Davis Wagner contributing a pair to go with single goals from senior John Martins and juniors Hunter Bentz, Spencer Gorham, Mike Meyer and Clay Rivers.

Attackman Robert Frazee netted twice for McLean (4-7,1-6), which also got single goals from attacker Andrew Smith, senior middie Andy Chung and middie Brian Sanders.

Goalies at both ends were credited with a total of nine saves for each team.  Senior Ryan Long guarded the Langley net for the entire game while juniors Seth Bartow and Sam Miller, and sophomore James Eyer, shared cage duties for the Highlanders, with Bartow starting and Miller handling bulk of the middle portion of the contest.   Eyer came on in the very late stages and had two outstanding stops to show for his brief appearance.

Adams opened the scoring less than three minutes into the game, with sophomore middie Luke Salzer zipping in an assisting pass from 15 yards out for the Saxon junior sharpshooter to flick in from just outside the crease.   Langley had the bit between the teeth from that point on until early in the second quarter, as the visitors racked up another eight straight goals.   Bentz, a second from Adams, a double from Wagner, Sandusky, then Martins took the haul to 7-0 by the close of the opening quarter.  

Meyer greeted second period play with a ten-yard bounce shot goal that Ahearn set up with the assisting pass.  Sandusky’s second of the game came next after a nicely worked build-up that brought a backdoor pass from Adams to the Saxon senior ghosting in near the goal crease for the easy finish and the 9-0 Langley advantage early in the second quarter.   

McLean mounted a fightback getting goals from Frazee, Smith and Sanders, although Adams and Sandusky added one each to their collection before the end of the first half.   Frazee had a lot to do weaving through the Saxon defenses before snapping in a left-hand shot past Long from 4 yards out to get his side on the scoreboard.  

Adams answered at the end of a nice cutting attack and score a couple minutes later to complete his hat-trick, followed shortly by Sandusky wrapping up his own hat-trick for the night.

Junior middie Nick Baker provided the assisting pass that set Smith for the finish late in the period, with the McLean senior getting off his shot as he was stumbling to the ground eight yards outside the crease.   Sanders then received a nice pass from Frazee that set the junior well for his five-yard strike with about a minute left in the half, but still left the Highlanders looking up at an 11-3 scoreline at halftime. 

The hosts enjoyed a more productive third period, shutting out Langley and grabbing a pair of goals of their own to reduce the deficit to six.  Frazee picked up his second goal of the game on a transition play with junior defender Conor Gilmartin bursting into attack along the side line.  The longpole player spotted his unmarked teammate and provided the crossing pass for the Highlander junior to deposit into Long’s net from just outside the crease.  Chung then struck from eight yards out, the McLean senior scoring with only four ticks left in the period off an assist from sophomore attacker Doug Steeten.

The final quarter saw choppy play, numerous penalties, extra-man advantages gained and lost, and three Saxon goals.  Gorham fired in from four yards out, followed by Ahearn’s precision strike from distance and a seven-yard left-hand shot from Rivers to complete the scoring ledger.  

Langley looked good for an additional pair of goals in the final minutes of the game if not for some sharp goalkeeping by late substitute goalie Eyer, who twice found himself alone against a Saxon in possession, both times bravely coming out of his crease for the goal-denying block.

With the loss, the Highlanders end up seeded seventh for the upcoming Liberty District play-offs, although their opponent will not be known until the Liberty District regular season schedule concludes early next week.

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Jack Sandusky nets sudden-death winner with his fourth goal of game

Submitted by Langley Lacrosse:

Jack Sandusky nets sudden-death winner with his fourth goal of game

April 19, 2011 — The Langley Saxons tangled with the Chantilly Chargers this past Tuesday at the West Springfield High School Boys Lacrosse Spring Break Invitational tournament, a mid-season match-up that many followers of Northern Virginia high school lacrosse might be thinking is preview of this year’s Northern Region or even State final.  And the two sides provided an afternoon contest that did not disappoint, with the Saxons edging past the tenacious Chargers in an 11-10 thriller reminiscent of the 4-3 extra-time gem between the same two squads that brought Langley its first boys lacrosse VHSL State crown in 2009.   

This latest edition of the Langley-Chantilly saga had senior Jack Sandusky deciding matters at the 1:36 mark of the fifth period of play.  The lively attacker, who delivered four goals in the game, struck from about 10 yards after freshman attacker J T Meyer survived a player scrum with possession, then furnished the assisting pass that set Sandusky well for the sudden finish.    

The Saxons (7-2) thought they had the win secured in regulation time when Sandusky pounced to give Langley a 10-9 lead with less than 32 seconds remaining on the clock.  But the Chargers kept their composure, and after winning the ensuing face-off and taking a timeout, moved efficiently into the attack with middie Jared Golden setting up attackman Daniel DeCenzo for an equalizer from seven yards with 15 seconds to spare.

Chantilly (10-1) had first possession in overtime that yielded a long, towering pass toward goal with a Charger lurking nearby.   Saxon goalie Andrew Spivey created enough of a nuisance to disrupt the pass, the ball bounding away and out of bounds, and although it looked as though a player’s stick, possibly Spivey’s, might have had the slightest of touch to deflect the ball, field officials ruled possession to Langley, who soon after claimed the game-winner.

In addition to Sandusky’s four for the game, the Saxons got a hat-trick from middie Luke Salzer as well as solo goals from junior middies Hunter Bentz and Clay Rivers, junior attacker Sean Ahearn and senior middie John Martins.  

DeCenzo collected a well-taken quartet of goals of his own for Chantilly to go with a hat-trick from junior middie Cole Fitzgerald, a pair from senior middie Craig Penman and a single goal from junior attacker Luke Bowers.  

Goalkeepers were very busy at both ends of the field, and despite the relatively high score, provided stellar protection in front of cage for their respective teams.  Spivey was credited with 14 saves while his Charger counterpart at the opposite end, senior Eric Simmons, was given credit for eight saves, a recorded amount that surely understates the goalie’s contribution to the Chantilly cause.

Langley was the brighter side in the early going, forging a 3-0 lead from the start, enjoying a 5-2 advantage at the close of the first period, and up 7-3 at halftime.  The Chargers then found their gallop and swiftly closed the gap to one by the middle of the third quarter, eventually leveling the score at 8-8 early in the fourth period. 

It was “end-to-end” from there, with each Saxon strike drawing a Chantilly response until the sudden-death conclusion that gave Langley the last word in a pulsating battle that could have gone either way.

The Saxons bolted from the starting blocks first and fast.  Martins rattled the net to open the scoring, the senior getting his first goal of the season on a left-hand shot from five yards out less than two minutes into the contest.  Bentz and Ahearn followed with strikes of their own on each side of a long stretch of possession in attack for the Saxons, the two goals delivered from close range off assists from Ahearn and Salzer, respectively.    

Langley’s Brendan Dwyer mounted an attack right out of the face-off after Bentz’ man-advantage goal but the senior defender’s bounce shot rainbowed over Simmons’ cage.   Charger defender Jacob Dansey then generated some flow in the other direction, with the sophomore embarking on an ambitious clearing run that eventually created a promising scoring chance for Chantilly only for Spivey to intercept just outside his goal area.

Down by three goals deep into the first period, the Chargers continued to ask questions of the Langley defenses, and were justly rewarded with pair of goals within a span of 20 seconds. Fitzgerald blasted in an unassisted effort from ten yards out followed by a low angled strike from Bowers that brought Penman an assist. 

But Sandusky and Salzer promptly supplied replies giving the Saxons a 5-2 lead by the close of the opening quarter.  The Langley senior feinted in past the Chantilly defenses to unleash from four yards out – with Ahearn assisting – followed by an 18-yard blast from Salzer after another long possession in attack for the Saxons, this with a man advantage. 

The two Saxons repeated the scoring sequence in the second quarter but not before DeCenzo grabbed his first of the game.  The Charger junior pitched in over the Langley defender and past Spivey after being set up by senior middie Devon Westerman.             

Sandusky then weaved in from behind the cage to score unassisted and high into the net, followed shortly by Salzer grabbing his second extra-man goal of the game, with the sophomore’s rifled shot from 15 yards sneaking by Simmons and into the net.  

Skillful defending in front of goal kept scoring down in a second quarter that saw numerous chances.  Simmons stopped a pair of close-in attempts in quick succession from Sandusky early in the quarter, another from junior attacker Josh Sibio shortly after, then yet again from Sandusky late in the period.  Spivey was busy at his end keeping out bids by Westerman, Golden and sophomore middie Mike Marson.   Chantilly junior defender Kevin Thompson came up with a timely clearing run of his own just after Simmons had twice denied Sandusky earlier in the period.  Dwyer, and Langley junior defender Chandler Suk, each executed vital steals with clearing passes when Saxon defenses were under heavy Charger assault.  

Chantilly got its stride at the start of second-half play with three straight goals to pull within one of Langley.   DeCenzo was left unguarded outside the crease from where he was able to put his second of the night past Spivey less than three minutes from the face-off.  Penman followed with a 12-yard strike off an assist from Westerman, and Fitzgerald delivered an unassisted goal after briefly getting knocked to the ground then recovering enough to snap his shot into Spivey’s net.

The Chargers created further chances on offense but were stymied by stout defending, and some Saxon luck.  Sophomore Robbie Byrne provided a crucial intercept of a menacing set-up pass, followed by a Spivey save when the defender lost possession while knocked to the ground during his clearing attempt.   Golden then broke free in the attack just after Fitzgerald’s goal in a bid to tie the score at seven apiece, but the Chantilly senior saw his effort sail just wide of the cage.  Dwyer then was called upon to employ a timely strip of possession as an eager Charger was setting to shoot into an unguarded corner of the net.

At the other end, Chantilly’s Simmons deployed a superb point-blank save on a close-in shot from Sibio early in the third quarter to keep his Chargers within reach.  Senior Brien Bracco chipped in later with a clever strip and groundball gain of possession with Chantilly still down by a goal and Langley on the prowl for more.       

That did not stop, however, Rivers dashing into attack and restoring a two-goal lead for the Saxons very late in the third period at the end of an alert passing sequence by longstick defenders.

A two-goal burst by Chantilly’s Fitzgerald and Penman early in the final period set the stage for an exciting conclusion.  Fitzgerald completed his hat-trick drilling high into the net from ten yards out, followed by Penman’s game-tier launched from eight yards.  DeCenzo had carried the ball into the attack zone with a notion to shoot but had good vision to pick out his teammate for a nice service pass that lead to Penman’s second goal of the game. 

With the contest finely poised, both sides went to work in search of the late lead.  Byrne disrupted a Charger attack with a strip and groundball win to halt a long Chantilly possession in attack after the Penman goal.  Bowers then popped up with a midfield steal of a Langley clearing pass but his ensuing shot clanked off the goal pipe.

Momentum shifted the other way when the Saxons were awarded a man advantage at the 7:18 mark, which resulted in Salzer firing in from 18 yards for the extra-man goal, and the lead again, for Langley.

Dansey made another aggressive clearing run to relieve pressure of further Saxon attack near the midpoint of the final quarter.  Rivers then forced Simmons into a tough save, yet again on a point-blank shot from just outside the goal crease that the Charger goalie was able to smother. 

DeCenzo tied the score at nine apiece with just under three minutes to go in regulation time.    Crisp passing between Golden and Bowers set up the scorer well at the crease for a calm finish.

Fitzgerald charged in alone and tested Spivey at the two-minute mark but the Langley junior held his own with a fine reaction kick save to keep the score even.  Sandusky and DeCenzo then traded goals in the dying moments of the last quarter to put the battle on course for sudden resolution in overtime.

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Submitted by Langley Lacrosse:

Seahawks Downed by Saxons, 16-5

A dozen players found net for Langley to get fifth Liberty District win this season

April 14, 2011 — The South Lakes Seahawks travelled to Langley this past Thursday in pursuit of top spot in Liberty District boys lacrosse only to be turned back by a Saxon foe that prevailed comfortably on home soil.

Scoring surges of five and then six consecutive goals in turn during each half of play elevated the hosts to the high ground that was fortress too mighty for the Seahawk assault.

Twelve players got name and number in the Langley half of the scoring ledger, with attackers Mike Adams and Sean Ahearn leading the Saxon pack with four and two goals, respectively, in the 16-5 triumph.

Three Langley attackmen – senior Jack Sandusky, junior Josh Sibio and freshman J T Meyer — provided solo goals, as did seniors Dan Gallucci and Davis Wagner, juniors Hunter Bentz, Spencer Gorham and Clay Rivers, and sophomore Luke Salzer, all from the middie position.

Saxon junior Chandler Suk opened his scoring account for the season when he delivered his one goal of the game nearly half way through the first quarter to break a scoreless tie after the contest’s longest stretch without a goal.

Seahawk attackmen Alex Clough and Harrison Hughes provided two goals apiece to go with one from junior middie Dan Stromecki.

Junior Andrew Spivey and senior Ryan Long shared netminding duties for Langley and were credited with nine and four saves, respectively.  South Lakes also relied on a duo of goalkeepers, with Alex Tucker and senior Gerald Goodwin combining for a total of six saves.

With both teams thus far undefeated in district play this season, the mid-season match-up presented a turning point of sorts for the Liberty rivals.  Coach Craig Lunde’s Seahawks (6-2 overall, 3-1 in district) could reckon that recent victories over Stone Bridge and Herndon served well as a heartening platform from which to launch further conquests en route to the play-offs.  For their part, Coach Earl Brewer’s Saxons (5-1, 5-0) have a district crown to defend, at the same time the desire to expand on a 17-game win streak against all Liberty opponents — and a straight 18 since the last home defeat to a district side, that a loss to W T Woodson in April 2005.

Langley senior Brendan Dwyer stirred the pot moments after the opening face-off when the defender, working as long-stick middie on the wing for the game start, collected the loose ball near the center spot and promptly ventured into attack.  His soft shot from eight yards out merely proved though that South Lakes’ Tucker was alert and ready for combat, as the Seahawk junior steered the effort from danger only seconds into the game.

The early scoring bid may have served as warning of things to come for the visitors, but nearly a half period of tentative, even awkward, play by both teams yielded little real momentum and only a handful of shots on goal at each end.

The breakthrough finally came nearly six minutes in when a Salzer pass to Suk enabled the Saxon defender to blast in from eight yards giving Langley a lead it would never relinquish.   Salzer then got his own a little more than two minutes later with Rivers setting up his fellow Saxon middie to dispatch from twelve yards out during a man-advantage for Langley.

Saxon defenders were in the mix for the third Langley goal coming only a minute later when Adams finished at the end of a quick counterattack featuring passes by Dwyer and Suk.

The strike by Adams was the first of a straight hat-trick that saw Rivers providing the assist for the junior’s second goal, snapped in from close range near the end of the opening quarter.   The third came one minute into the second stanza, and was end product of a sparkling, end-to-end move that started with Dwyer producing a steal in his own defensive zone followed by swift ball movement from the defender to Suk, then on to Ahearn into attack.  The junior supplied a decisive pass to the wide-open Adams, who deposited past Tucker for the 5-0 lead.

The deficit for the Seahawks may have been even greater if not for a timely move by South Lakes’ junior defender Harrison Drier, whose key intercept near Tucker’s crease defused a threatening build-up during a Langley man-up situation at the end of the first period.

The visitors mounted their first real fight-back after Adams’ hat-trick, with Hughes picking out the corner of Spivey’s goal from a very sharp angle at close range upon receiving a pass from Clough that set up the Seahawk senior well for the score.  The two sides then traded goals – Ahearn getting his first of the game from four yards out and Stromecki replying with an unassisted effort from the same distance.

A quick clearing pass sent Rivers running into attack from midfield to blast past Tucker late in the second quarter, followed by Ahearn’s second of the game, staking the Saxons to a commanding 8-2 advantage at the close of the first half.

The halftime break brought some renewed vigor to the South Lakes to start the second half, at least in the opening stages.  Clough rifled in past Spivey from twelve yards out barely 20 seconds from the face-off, with the assist earned by junior Nolan Boyle, who shortly after thought he had netted one himself, but the Seahawk middie’s close-in effort found only side netting.

Langley was in the mood for more goals, and the next six went past a South Lakes goalie.  Wagner delivered a six yarder off of an assisting pass from Dwyer, followed by a quick finish from just outside the crease by Sandusky, who acrobatically turned in a re-start pass coming from Ahearn at the end-line behind the cage.  Meyer then drilled into the top corner of Tucker’s net with an assist from junior attacker Joey Trippi.  Salzer next added another assist for himself setting up Gallucci for a bounce shot that slipped in past Tucker from ten yards.

Gorham greeted the fourth quarter by lashing in from eight yards on what initially looked to be an unlikely scoring chance.  Adams followed soon after with his fourth goal of the game, calmly snapping into the net from four yards and giving Sandusky one of his two assists for the game.

The busy South Lakes defenses did not let everything get by.  Drier thwarted one promising Saxon foray when he bravely collected the loose ball amidst a fierce scrum and produced a fine clearing run to give his beleaguered side some relief. The defender was also active in the attack half, where he was set up nicely near Spivey’s crease for a possible score but his bid hit the pipe.  The lively Seahawk then deflected a cross-crease pass late in the third quarter that had the look of yet another Langley goal in the making.

Goodwin, who had replaced Tucker in the net for South Lakes at the start of the final period, then was able to stifle what appeared to be a sure scoring chance when middie Tom Orme was left alone in front of the Seahawk goalie and given a couple of chances to shoot.  The Saxon junior hit the goal frame on his first attempt, then was denied shortly after by the alert Goodwin, who stepped up just in time to disrupt the threat.

With little doubt remaining about the outcome of the 14-3 contest deep in the second half, it remained for the teams to alternate scoring for the remainder of the game.  Clough delighted the crowd when the South Lakes senior resorted to a behind-the-back delivery to sneak in past Long, who had entered the game as replacement for Spivey in Langley goal. Bentz advanced on a break to restore the eleven goal margin with a five-yard strike for the Saxons.   Hughes then matched his teammate’s pair by getting a second of the game when left alone to slip in low past Long, followed by Sibio’s sustained run around the attack area leading to his firing in from six yards to complete the scoring.

The Saxons have trips to face the McLean Highlanders (3-5, 1-4) and Thomas Jefferson Colonials (4-1, 3-1) to complete the regular season district campaign while the Seahawks look ahead to home clashes against the Colonials, Fairfax Rebels (0-9, 0-5) and Madison Warhawks (4-4, 2-2) to close out the regular season.

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