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.
Processing your request, Please wait....
