Langley High School | Archive | May, 2012

Submitted by Langley Lacrosse:

May 25, 2012: Chantilly Charger resilience with a spirited comeback effort fell just short in the end leaving the host Langley Saxons to claim a second Northern Region title in boys lacrosse with the 8-6 triumph in the tournament final on Friday.   The Saxons looked to have matters well in hand late in the third period, having forged a convincing  7-2 lead on home soil in no small way due to a defensive posture for the evening that had conceded very little to the Chantilly offense.  

But the Chargers stormed back to reduce the deficit to one goal with almost five minutes remaining in regulation time to jangle nerves along the Langley sideline and among home supporters in the South-side grandstand.  Saxon junior Luke Salzer provided the timely relief, however, the lively middie firing in wrap-around fashion past Chantilly goalie Patrick Meehan just past the 2:58 mark of the final period to restore the two-goal lead that held to the final horn.

Both teams had already qualified for the VHSL state play-offs by virtue of their semi-final away wins the previous evening – Langley defeating the Oakton Cougars 18-12 and the Chargers slipping past the W. T. Woodson Cavaliers 7-6 in overtime.  The win on Friday in the Region Final gives Head Coach Earl Brewer’s Saxons (19-2) the first-seed position from the Northern Region in the state competition, and with that a quarterfinal home game on Saturday, June 2.  Langley’s opponent in that game will be the loser of the AA Northern Region final this Tuesday that features the Dominion Titans (13-6) hosting the Woodgrove Wolverines (14-5).   As Northern Region second seed, Chantilly Head Coach Kevin Broderick will take his squad (16-3) for the road trip on June 2 to face the winner of the Titan-Wolverine clash.       

The scoring ledger showed balance at two apiece midway through the second quarter when the Liberty District champions started to impose some authority on the contest, generating a five-goal run that carried over to the second half of play.  Two goals from senior attackman Sean Ahearn, with assists from Salzer on the first and senior Josh Sibio on the second, were followed by an unassisted strike from Sibio to give the home side the 5-2 advantage at halftime.   The latter goal came out of an interception of a Charger pass by Saxon goalie Andre Spivey during a man-up situation for Chantilly, which ignited the fast-break counter leading to the attacker’s short-handed goal at the other end.   

The Saxons grabbed another two early in the second half but not before Sibio hit the pipe and senior middie Clay Rivers, then attacker Mike Adams, each got off attempts that had flags flying for defensive fouls by the Chargers.  It was during the attack for the second man-up situation that Langley sophomore J. T. Meyer dispatched past Meehan  for the 6-2 lead, off of an assisting pass from Ahearn working behind the cage.  Adams then pounced less than a minute later to make it 7-2, the senior taking the set-up pass from Rivers and using a feint move with head-dodge at the crease before flicking in past the goalie for the score.

Meehan soon after had more success with the stop on Salzer’s promising shot, followed by a fine point-blank save by the sophomore netminder to deny Adams getting a second goal for the night.  Chantilly then was awarded a man advantage for a holding call on the Saxons, and began to apply more consistent pressure on Langley defenses, although senior longpoleman Nick Rifken made the vital intercept of the incoming pass to thwart the attack on Spivey’s goal.

That intervention gave the Saxons only a temporary reprieve, however, as the visitors mounted further assault resulting in senior Luke Bowers punching in late in the third quarter the second of his two goals for the night.  Senior Dan DeCenzo was alert to block a Langley clearing pass, recover the groundball and furnish the assisting pass for his attacking line-mate to convert past Spivey.  Senior Cole Fitzgerald kept the Saxon netminder busy, getting off shots as time was winding down in the period, but the Chantilly middie’s efforts went wide or were saved by the senior goalie.

Rivers triggered the first shot in the final period but that clanked off of the goal pipe and away from danger to the Chargers, who then renewed their operations in front of the Saxon goal in search of scoring chances.  A man-up situation for Chantilly yielded a couple more shots from Fitzgerald – the first going wide and the other saved by Spivey – and ended with junior defender Brad Dotson deploying a stick-check to steal possession from the Chargers.

DeCenzo snapped in for Chantilly’s fourth goal after the attacker saw Spivey turn away his initial shot moments earlier. 

Adams had thoughts of getting a second goal when he collected the loose ball at the other end in front of Meehan’s cage but his reaction shot sailed well over the net, followed by a second chance off of a set-up pass from the outside but the result for Adams was the same.  Ahearn, Salzer, and Adams again, tested Meehan but none of the shots got through.  The Chargers brought the action to the other end and put Spivey to work in front of net, as well had defender Langley defender Chandler Suk in the way of a wicked shot on goal from distance.  The senior showed some discomfort from the blast but promptly headed back into the fray to defend.  

Junior middie Conrad Unterkofler then got Saxon supporters shifting nervously in their seats when he fought through the Langley defenses for the bounce-shot goal that brought the Chargers to within two goals with a 7-5 score-line.  Senior Nico Alcalde added to the home-side unease 17 seconds later when the Chantilly middie bolted in toward Spivey to deliver the unassisted score that brought the Chargers to within a goal of tying the game.  But Salzer settled matters at just past the three-minute mark of regulation time to assure his Saxons a path to victory and its second Northern Region title.

In addition to Ahearn’s pair and single goals from Adams, Meyer, Salzer and Sibio, Langley got first-period strikes from senior middie Hunter Bentz and sophomore attacker Billy Orme.   Senior attacker Stephen Klein claimed the game-opening goal for Chantilly, to go with Bowers’ two for the game and the solo shots from Alcalde, DeCenzo and Unterkofler during the late-game fightback.

Meehan was credited with six saves while Spivey kept out a dozen scoring attempts on goal.   Langley senior Spencer Gorham prevailed on 11 of the 18 face-offs during the contest.                     

Game Note: Reliable video evidence has now identified the perpetrator of major midfield pilferage at approximately the eight-minute mark of the final period of the Thursday contest at Oakton.  The suspect was observed wearing a Saxon lacrosse jersey and chasing down a Cougar entering the Langley defensive zone with apparent intent to inflict goal-scoring harm on the visiting Saxons.  Enhanced imaging techniques now clearly show the number 19 on the suspect’s game shirt, and reveal the intense hustling, adept stick-check and timely take-away that promptly turned action into the other direction, to the great delight of the Langley throng on the field, along the sideline and in the grandstand. A former Saxon-in-Chief would surely have appreciated the move as the appropriate response to the call of duty for a Northern Region semi-final.

Team Notes: Speaking of that Chief, former Langley middie Alex Devlin (Class of 2009), now at Colorado State, helped his Rams hoist the MCLA (Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association) national title hardware this past May 19 with a 7-5 finals win over the Cal Poly Mustangs, in Greenville, South Carolina.   Devlin, who finished the MCLA season with 18 Goals and 12 Assists, scored the game-opening and eventual game-winning (CSU’s sixth) goal against the Mustangs, and this season has earned MCLA “All Tournament” Midfield, MCLA Second Team All-America Midfield, and RMLC (Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference) Second Team “All Conference” Midfield honors.   Congratulations to Alex – and to his parents Karen and Patrick.

http://csulacrosse.com/2012/05/20/colorado-state-wins-fifth-mcla-title-with-7-5-win-over-cal-poly/

And, in other action of note, former Langley longpole defender Thomas Robinson (Class of 2010) joins his Greyhound squad in battle against the University of Maryland Terrapins, with Robinson’s Loyola of Maryland having advanced to the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Lacrosse Final on Memorial Day Monday in Foxboro, Massachusetts by virtue of a semifinal victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday.  Our very best wishes go out to Thomas and his Greyhounds, as well as to his parents Andy and Isabelle.

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Submitted by Langley Lacrosse:

May 24, 2012: The Langley Saxons booked their passage to the Northern Region Boys Lacrosse Final, and with that a trip to the VHSL State Play-offs for the fourth year running, by virtue of a 16-12 Region semifinal victory over the Oakton Cougars at Oakton on Thursday.   The Saxons will meet the Chantilly Chargers, 7-6 winners in overtime against the W. T. Woodson Cavaliers in the other semifinal on Thursday, with Langley hosting the Region final on Friday night.  With only two state competition slots allotted to Northern Region teams starting this year, the loss on Thursday ends a Cougar campaign just short of advancing beyond Regional play, but with a Concorde District title and a key district play-off road win over Chantilly added to the Oakton boys lacrosse resume.      

Oakton had the upper hand for much of the first half of play on Thursday, keeping the Saxons on the back foot for a good stretch of time leading up to a promising 7-3 lead with less than a minute remaining until half-time.  But Langley sharpshooter Mike Adams – who ended up adding seven goals to his scoring account for the season — popped up to snap in a couple in the remaining 28 seconds before the intermission to re-adjust the score-line to 7-5. 

Adams’ quick work in the dying moments of the opening half would serve as a warning sign of things to come, as the Saxons proceeded to unload into the Oakton net that was ably guarded by senior Connor Anderson for much of the front end of the contest.   Three strikes in a span of 20 seconds midway through the third quarter put Langley into the passing lane.   Senior attacker Sean Ahearn furnished the second of his three goals for the night, followed by Adams’ third goal of the game right from the ensuing face-off – senior Spencer Gorham winning the re-start, with passes through sophomore Billy Orme and fellow attacker Ahearn on to the senior attackman for the game-tier in a matter of eight seconds.  The following face-off led to sophomore attacker J. T. Meyer drilling in past Anderson only 11 seconds later putting the Saxons in front for good.

Senior Clay Rivers added his one for the night to make it 9-7 just a couple of minutes later, the Langley middie launching from ten yards after a long possession and patient build-up by the Saxons on offense.

The Cougars seemed to have settled the commotion in front of Anderson’s cage as the third period neared completion, even to the point of forcing Langley goalie Andrew Spivey into action at the other end with a couple of saves and an interception of an incoming pass.  But the Saxons conspired to sneak another one by the Oakton netminder with less than a second left in the quarter, out of a scoring move that started with a cross-field volley by Spivey as the clock time neared zero.  Ahearn collected the loose ball that trickled from the crease-side skirmish between a Cougar defender and Langley attacker Josh Sibio, to deposit past Anderson with a fraction of a second still showing on the game clock.     

Sibio converted less than 11 seconds later in game time at the very start of the final period giving the Saxons a convincing four-goal lead.  Again, Gorham with the face-off win — the middie prevailed on two-thirds of the game’s center-spot re-starts — and passes to Meyer then on to the Langley senior for the sure finish.  

Adams topped off the nine-goal run with his fourth of the night soon after on an assist from Ahearn, staking his side to a commanding five-goal edge with a little more than eight minutes left in the game.   The remainder of the encounter featured back-and-forth moves and scoring in rainy, often slick conditions with Oakton getting no closer than three goals behind as the fate of its season came down to a 16-12 home defeat.                  

In addition to seven from Adams and Ahearn’s three for the night, the Saxons got a pair of goals from Meyer and senior middie Slater Howell, as well as the solo strikes from Rivers and Sibio.   Three Cougar attackers delivered hat-tricks in the game – seniors Evan Lalande and Sean Schweiker, and junior Jack Harris – to go with single goals from three middies — seniors Michael Durst and Stephen Lambrides, and sophomore Cory Harris.

Spivey was credited with six saves in goal while Anderson turned away 11 goal-bound shots. 

Notes: The Cougars (13-7) have now fallen to the Saxons (18-2) in six straight meetings – including three in Regional Tournament play – since the Oakton win at Langley in a 2008 Region quarterfinal that sent the Saxons to clean out their lockers that season. 

The 28 total goals scored on Thursday is the most scored in a Langley game since the 31 in a 25-6 Saxon win over the Marshall Statesmen on May 23, 2001, and eclipses the 27 goals scored in the 23-4 Langley victory over the Fairfax Rebels on May 20, 2004.

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Submitted by Langley Lacrosse:

May 18, 2012: Junior Luke Salzer rocketed in a trio of goals that sparked the offense but it was a stalwart defense that carried the Saxons to a 9-4 triumph over the Stallions from South County in a Northern Region quarterfinal bout in boys lacrosse on Friday evening at Langley.   The Saxons advance to a semifinal battle — and a chance to secure a slot in the VHSL state tournament in June – on the road against the Oakton Cougars (13-6) on Thursday.   For Coach John Nolan’s Stallions (13-3), the play-off defeat ends a positively productive season that saw vast improvement with nine more wins and less than half the number of losses of a year ago, and a team record 13 victories for the spring campaign.

Salzer blasted in a pair from distance in quick succession early in the second half of play putting some space between the two sides after a scoreless first period had slowly given way to a slender 2-1 Langley advantage by the opening minutes of the third quarter.  South County responded well to pull within one goal on strikes from senior attackers Peter Basnight and Taylor Wirth.  The teams traded goals in the waning moments of the third period – senior attacker Sean Ahearn delivered for the Saxons while Basnight grabbed his second of the night – to keep matters close at 5-4 in Langley’s favor to start the final period.

But the Saxon rearguard and solid goalkeeping by Andrew Spivey kept the Stallion offensive corps corralled while the Langley attack at the other end mounted a four-goal scoring run that sealed the victory for the hosts.  Senior attacker Mike Adams snapped in a pair to go with Ahearn’s second of the game and a third from Salzer for the hat-trick and the game’s closing goal to add some gloss to the playoff triumph.  Spivey and Saxon longpole defenders — seniors Chandler Suk and Nick Rifken, and juniors Brad Dotson and Robbie Byrne — masterfully kept the scoring ledger clean for the whole of the first half of play and the fourth quarter. 

The Langley netminder was credited with seven saves while his counterpart in front of the opposite net – senior Connor Cunningham – made eight saves.

Goals were at a premium in the early stages, and nearly 16 minutes of game clock time elapsed before defenses were breached on either side for the game-opening goal.   The opening period offered South County some good early looks at Spivey’s goal with several attempts that the senior netminder turned aside or snared.  Dotson provided a key block on a Basnight scoring bid late in the quarter while Cunningham on the other end managed a timely intercept of a threatening pass from behind his cage triggered by senior attacker Josh Sibio.  

The Saxons came out the brighter to start the second period and saw a promising bid from senior Tyler Baskins parried by the Stallion keeper, followed by shots from Ahearn and sophomore attacker J. T. Meyer that just missed the target. 

But then Ahearn behind Cunningham’s cage picked out attacker Billy Orme slipping clear of his defensive marker near the crease.  The sophomore turned in the assisting pass at close range for the game-opening strike less than four minutes into the second quarter.

The visitors looked to have a counter-attack advantage building soon after the ensuing face-off but a Baskins body-block detached ball from opponent, with the middie then collecting the groundball for the turnover that promptly put Langley on attack once again. The Saxons doubled their lead moments later when senior middie Hunter Bentz sliced the space between Cunningham and his net frame for the unassisted score from eight yards out.

Langley maintained the offensive pressure on the Stallion defenses with junior Jack Reilly dodging in to shoot from close range, but the middie’s effort found only the side netting.  Meyer then shot just wide of net while Sibio forced Cunningham into another smart save, followed by a bounce shot from senior middie Clay Rivers that missed narrowly to the right of the South County cage.

It was not all one-way traffic, though, as the Stallions grabbed some time in their offensive area late in the first half.   But Byrne shut down one foray with the check, steal and clear, then made the vital intercept of a pass coming out from behind Spivey’s cage and toward awaiting South County attackers during the first man-advantage situation of the contest.  For their part, Stallion defenders did as well to keep the scoring limited, in the latter part of the first half putting together a crisp sequence of long-pole passing and the clearing move involving seniors Dale Marcot and Stephen Rowley, and junior Connor Smith.          

Luke Gladys supplied the scoring breakthrough for the Stallions at the start of the second half, the senior middie shooting in high past Spivey from six yards off of a fine assisting pass from senior line-mate Travis Gordon.   South County then was awarded a one-minute man advantage but the Saxons were the ones to provide the surge with Salzer’s first of the night.   The middie fired in the left-handed shot from 15 yards, then repeated that less than a minute later with a similar blast from nearly the same spot giving Langley the 4-1 lead.

Ahearn tested Cunningham from close range on two occasions but the Stallion goalie was equal to both challenges.  South County was not in the mood for retreat and charged back with a pair of goals to close the gap to one goal.  Basnight dodged through a crowd of defenders and flicked in past Spivey for the first, followed by Wirth’s finish from just outside the crease.  The attacker saw Spivey deny his initial attempt on goal, but the rebound fell back nicely for a successful strike at the second time of asking.  

Ahearn then collected a groundball during an unsettled situation and fought his way to a spot for lashing in past Cunningham to restore a two-goal margin for the Saxons with about a minute remaining in the third period.  But Basnight responded quickly getting his second goal of the evening when he drilled in past Spivey off the precise pass from Wirth stationed behind the cage.  

The 5-4 difference to start the final quarter of regulation time gave the encounter the flavor of a nail-biter to the finish but Langley took command in its attack zone to settle matters well before the final horn.  A passing sequence from defender Suk to Byrne, then on to Salzer set up Adams well for his first of the night less than two minutes into the period.  Adams then became the provider with an assisting pass for Ahearn to punch in less than a minute later. 

The Stallions were again with the man-advantage and Basnight, Wirth then Gladys managed to put shots on goal but none got past Spivey.   Salzer initiated the clear late in the penalty that led to Adams’ second goal, this with a feint and dodge in front of Cunningham to open up just enough space for depositing past the keeper.

Another man-up opportunity for South County coming out of a non-releasable penalty infraction by the Saxons with about five minutes remaining offered some hope of recovery for the Stallions but Dotson quickly reversed that with a key check, steal of possession and clear from the defensive zone.  And Salzer was busy less than a half–minute later completing his hat trick for the night, which assured Langley (17-2) of moving on to the Region semi-final, and with that the prospect of claiming a spot in the VHSL State Tournament for the fourth year running.

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