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Submitted by Langley Lacrosse:

April 4, 2012: The Langley Saxons kept unblemished their 2012 campaign results but only by the narrowest of margins in a pulsating 9-8 victory over a tenacious Palos Verdes Sea Kings squad at West Springfield on Wednesday night.  The Saxons looked to have matters sealed and delivered with a 9-5 lead showing less than five minutes to the final horn, but the Sea Kings, visiting from the Los Angeles area for the West Springfield Boys Lacrosse Spring Break Invitational, had other ideas and grabbed a trio of goals to shrink the deficit to one with 37 seconds to spare in the tournament finale.  A final assault on the Langley goal with 20 seconds remaining was thwarted by goalie Andrew Spivey’s 17^th save of the game and alert back-up by the Saxons to preserve ball possession to the conclusion for the win.

Grant Cigliano guarded the Palos Verdes goal and was credited with ten saves but was no less busy or productive than his Langley counterpart.  Five Sea Kings — all seniors — got name and number in the score log, with attacker Johnny Romer picking up a hat-trick, attacker Dean Dillenberg a pair, and middies Zack Fixen, Graham Francis and Jake Macer one apiece.  Attackman Sean Ahearn provided three goals for the Saxons to go with two from fellow attacker Josh Sibio, and one each from middies Clay Rivers and Luke Salzer, and from attackers Mike Adams and J. T. Meyer.

Langley had forged a three-goal advantage late in the first half that seemed good value for what was shaping up at the time to be a low scoring affair only for Palos Verdes to erase the difference — and level at 4-4 — by the middle of the third period.  The Saxons promptly rebounded with a four-goal run within a span of just over four minutes then lost their way again after the two sides traded goals halfway through the final quarter.  A flurry of penalties going both ways — which included a two-man advantage for Langley for 34 seconds with less than two minutes remaining — provided the twist near the end as the Sea Kings gamely held off their opponent then managed to score what would prove to be the game’s final tally to close the gap to one goal in the waning moments to set up a frantic finish.

That final score was delivered by Palos Verdes’ Dellinger, who earlier had provided the opening salvo of the battle giving his Sea Kings the initial lead following a couple minutes of early probing by both sides to gain some measure of the night’s adversary from the opposite coast.   Sibio then snared an errant clearing effort at the midfield line and produced an equalizer for the Saxons.

Rivers gave Langley the lead late in the opening quarter when the senior blasted in from 12 yards out.  Ahearn then collected the first of his three for the night at the end of swift transition play starting at the other end with Spivey parrying a promising crossing pass from a Palos Verdes attacker.  Junior longstickman Brad Dotson scrummed for and claimed the loose ball that he then cleared to fellow Saxon Robbie Byrne in neutral territory.   The junior defender spotted the open Sibio for another pass into attack that set-up the assist from the senior for Ahearn’s finish into Cigliano’s net.

The Sea King keeper alertly blocked a close-in effort by Meyer only two minutes later but the sophomore’s initial bid rebounded straight to Ahearn, who calmly punched in from four yards out giving Langley a 4-1 advantage.

Palos Verdes pulled one back less than a minute later when Romer drilled in from eight yards getting his first of the contest.   Both sides menaced the opposing defenses, and the Sea Kings enjoyed a man-advantage situation for one minute, going late into the first half but Spivey and Cigliano turned away the scoring opportunities on hand to preserve the 4-2 scoreline for the halftime break.

Sea Kings Coach Jimmy Borell, who played his high school lacrosse as a Lake Braddock Bruin, saw his troops advance on a positive course after the intermission as Fixen then Romer navigated through the Saxon defenses to deliver past Spivey to level the score just past the midpoint of the third period.   Palos Verdes middies Zach Henkhaus and Sean Ahern pestered Spivey with goal attempts but both seniors were denied.   Salzer came back the other way to restore the lead for Langley launching from 18 yards when gifted ample space to operate.  The junior then supplied the assist for Adams to double the margin for the Saxons with the senior depositing past Cigliano early in an extra-man opportunity for Langley.

The Sea Kings were awarded a man advantage late in the third quarter but Spivey kept out the one menacing chance that emerged at his end.  The Saxons then turned the action in the other direction when Meyer put Adams in fine position to flick in past Cigliano only to see the senior deploy a superb reaction move for the outstanding save.

Langley continued in the ascendancy when they added a pair of goals — from Sibio then Meyer — early in the final stanza.   Francis then cranked in a 15-yarder past Spivey but that was soon matched by Ahearn’s third of the game, this on another extra-man situation for the Saxons, to set the score at 9-5.  Salzer’s feed-in pass from the perimeter of the attack found its way to the Langley goal-scorer who had ghosted in from behind the cage unnoticed by the opposing defenses.

Palos Verdes had no surrender in their script, however, and embarked on a comeback bid that saw well-earned goals from Romer – his third of the evening – and Macer followed late by Dellinger’s second of the game, but in the end came up just short of forcing an overtime decision.

The win for Coach Earl Brewer’s Saxons (6-0) capped an undefeated run through the three-game tournament that included earlier triumphs of 10-2 over the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Barons (2-3) and 16-8 over the Annandale Atoms (4-4).   The loss for the Sea Kings (10-2) followed a 20-5 win over host West Springfield Spartans (2-5) and a 10-9 defeat to the Westfield Bulldogs (7-2).   The loss on Wednesday was the first time going back to at least 2005 that the Sea Kings have suffered defeat in consecutive games.

Palos Verdes returns to action back in California on Wednesday, April 11 in a home clash against CA Bay Region rival Culver City Centaurs (6-4) while Langley will host Liberty District opponent Madison Warhawks (5-2) on Friday, April 13.

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Submitted by Langley Lacrosse:

March 28, 2012: A convincing 15-4 triumph over local rivals McLean Highlanders this past Wednesday evening at Langley set the Saxons to what they hope to be smooth cruising altitude on course for another VHSL crown in boys lacrosse.   The current state titleholders got their season lift-off 12 days earlier at Westfield with a comfortable 11-1 win against the DC WCAC Bishop O’Connell Knights, followed by a narrow 11-10 victory on the same turf the following night in a tight battle against the Northwest Region’s Battlefield Bobcats, who generated the same kind of turbulence for Langley this time around as they did in the opening round of the state play-offs nearly 10 months ago only to fall short yet again by a single goal.        

The Saxons, now with three consecutive state crowns highlighting their portfolio of achievements, can expect to be the target for Old Dominion squads aplenty, with a slate of opponents this season surely eager and prepared to pounce at the first opportunity for collecting a Langley scalp.

But where the Bobcats ably matched the Saxons in firepower and guile, McLean was forced into chasing the game nearly from the start, with their hosts methodically building a 7-0 advantage by the middle of the second quarter.  The Highlanders bravely chipped away to close to within 8-3 by the middle of the third period, but a 7-1 scoring margin for Langley to the conclusion rendered the contest a lean portion of stalemate between two hefty slices of Saxon offense.

Langley senior attackmen Sean Ahearn and Josh Sibio each collected a quartet of goals while senior Hunter Bentz and junior Luke Salzer — both middies — contributed a pair each to go with single scores from senior attacker Mike Adams, senior middie Max Mullen and sophomore attacker Billy Orme.

McLean got a pair of goals from junior attacker Coleman Hopkins and solo strikes from senior middie David Cheplick and freshman attacker Alex Morris.

Highlander senior goalkeeper Sam Miller was by far the busiest of the netminders for the evening, with 13 saves to his credit and a boatload of Saxon shots on goal to animate his recollections of the evening’s proceedings.   

Senior Andrew Spivey and junior Clay Kennedy split goalie duties for Langley, with Spivey producing three saves while Kennedy furnished four during his fourth-quarter stint, including a cluster of attempts blocked that thwarted the only real threat the visitors posed in front of the Saxon cage in the late stages.   

Coach Earl Brewer next takes his Saxons (1-0 in Liberty play; 3-0 overall) to meet the Bethesda/Chevy Chase Barons (2-1) at the West Springfield High School Spring Break Invitational Tournament while Coach Jake Bullock’s Highlanders (0-2, 3-3) travel to face AA Dulles District Woodgrove Wolverines (0-1) of Purcellville.

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By: Sam Dowell
Digital Sports Intern
James Madison Univerity

2011 Langley Cross Country

Coach: Gifford Krivak

Boys 2010 Finish at Districts: 5th

Boys Top Returning Runners:

• SR Mike Meyer- Langley’s top runner in 2010, finished 16th at districts.

Potential Break-out Runners in 2011:

• JR Jack Flatly
• SR Steven Swain

Notes:

• 4 varsity runners return
• “The current junior class is pretty strong and could come into their own this season” – Coach Krivak

Girls Finish 2010 at Districts: 2nd

Top Returning Runners:

• JR Jessica Miles – Won the Liberty District in 2010 with a time of 18:21, qualified for nationals.
• JR Courtney West – Finished 2nd at Districts in 2010 behind Miles clocking in at 18:34. Suffered a hip injury during the 2010-2011 indoor season.
• JR Elisa Purdy – Placed 8th at Districts and 18th at Regionals in 2010.

Potential Break-out Runners in 2011:

• SR Mary Fouse – Made it to states her sophomore year, had a knee injury that ended her junior cross country season. Ran well in outdoor, placing in both the 1600m and 3200m races at districts.

Notes

• The Saxons return all but the 6th varsity runner from a team that placed 2nd in districts last year.
• “The key in 2011 is health as several of their top runners have a history of injuries.” – Coach Krivak

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By: Sam Dowell
Digital Sports Intern
James Madison University

2011 Langley Football

Coach: John Howerton

2010 record: (6-5)

Number of Returning Starters on Offense: 4

Number of Returning Starters on Defense: 8

2011 Impact Players:

• Jr Phillip Mun (RB)

Mun made 2^nd team all-district in 2010 as a 5’9 150lb sophomore and is primed to lead a Saxons offense that lost an outstanding signal caller and top receiver.

• Sr Marcus Harvey (S/WR)

At 6’2 180lbs Harvey has elite speed and athleticism, may be the fastest kid in the liberty district.

• Jr Jack Howerton (DT/OL)

At 6’1 300lbs, Jack is the strongest kid in Langley history and is looking to build on a 2010 season where he made 1^st team all-district honors.

• Sr Dillon Clemente (DE/OT)

At 270lbs, Dillon will team up with Jack Howerton to form arguably the biggest front line in the district on both sides of the ball.

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Submitted by Langley Lacrosse:

June 11, 2011: The Langley Saxons made it three in a row on Saturday — the third VHSL boys lacrosse state title in as many years — consecutively from first-seed, second-second, and now third-seed Northern Regions state play-off berths.  And on the thoroughness of the triumph that brings the latest state honors — a 17-8 conquest of Northern Region rival Chantilly Chargers at Westfield High School — the Saxons simply made it seem rather easy, like taking candy from a baby.

Not that the third-time state champs were content with coasting to the finish line with the resounding end result well in hand, or that the Chargers simply surrendered to their fate at the earliest signs of impending collapse.  When Langley junior Josh Sibio chased down and dispossessed for turnover a hard-working Chantilly short-stick middie near the midfield line with the Saxons up by nine goals and only seven minutes remaining until the final horn, one might have thought the combatants had simply ignored the scoreboard for the entire evening. The intensity that remained at such a late stage of a tilted contest was something that a former Saxon middie-in-Chief no doubt would appreciate.

From the face-off circle to the goal crease, along the sidelines and at all points in between, Coach Earl Brewer’s squad shaped victory that defied most if not all expectations as to the size of the winning margin, and surely the swiftness of its arrival.  Attacker Mike Adams delivered a phenomenal nine goals, making it 15 in the last two games alone and 67 in the 2011 campaign for the Langley junior.  Strike partner Sean Ahearn, also a junior, provided a goal and five assists.   Two middies — junior Hunter Bentz and sophomore Luke Salzer — added a pair of goals apiece to go with two from senior attacker Jack Sandusky and a solo strike from senior middie Davis Wagner.

Spencer Gorham’s tenacious appetite for winning center-spot re-starts, and his lively longpoles on the wing — seniors Clark Andersen and Brenden Dwyer, junior Chandler Suk, sophomore Robbie Byrne and freshman Hunter Yates — fueled the possession engine that drove a relentless Saxon offense throughout the night.

Junior Andrew Spivey worked the first three quarters of the game and was credited with six saves while senior Ryan Long guarded the net in the final quarter and made two saves.  The Langley netminders conceded a string of solo strikes coming from eight different Chargers — senior attackman Kyle O’Connor and senior middies Kyle Louis, Craig Penman and Devon Westerman, junior attackers Luke Bowers and Daniel DeCenzo, and junior middies Nico Alcalde and Cole Fitzgerald.    

Senior Eric Simmons and sophomore Tommie Fairbank split the cagework for Chantilly, with Simmons working the first half and making six saves while Fairbank saved once during his second-half tour of duty in net.

The Saxons raced to an early 5-0 lead and had their opponent looking up at a 6-1 score-line at the close of the first period, and 11-3 at half-time.   A three-goal burst by Chantilly in the third period offered a hint of a comeback bid by the 2011 Northern Region Champs but not before Langley had added a pair earlier in the second half to trigger the running clock with a ten-goal lead.   The Chargers never got closer than seven, though, as a fourth-quarter hat-trick by Adams and a chip-shot from close range by Wagner more than made up for a pair of late goals from Chantilly.

The Chargers (21-2) produced solid wins over two Northwest Region squads — at home against the Patrick Henry Roanoke Patriots (15-4) and at Westfield against the Albemarle Patriots (19-2) — to earn their spot in the state final.   The Saxons (19-3) needed double-overtime to sneak past the Battlefield Bobcats (16-3) on the road in Haymarket followed by a come-from-behind win against the Annandale Atoms (16-4) at Westfield to claim the other slot in the championship game.  The two finalists last faced each other in the Spring Break Invitational tournament at West Springfield in April, where they treated attendees to an 11-10 overtime thriller that went Langley’s way in a finely-balanced contest that many anticipated was the template for the showdown on Saturday.

But that was not to be.  A roaring start by the Saxons, buttressed by a six-goal run beginning late in the first quarter right after the Chargers had scored their first goal of the game, put matters well beyond Chantilly’s reach by half-time.    

Salzer rifled in an unassisted goal from about 15 yards for the 6-1 Langley lead less than two minutes after DeCenzo fought off a Saxon defender to fire in from six yards getting his Chargers on the scoreboard for the first time late in the opening period.       

The Chargers came back the other way with shots from Bowers, Fitzgerald and Penman — the latter two coming during a man advantage situation for Chantilly — but none got by Spivey.  Adams then supplied a man-up goal early in the second quarter with an assisting pass from Salzer setting up the strike from just outside the crease near the goal line. 

Ahearn fought off his defensive marker to gain a good shooting position for the unassisted score from just outside the crease at the seven-minute mark of the second period for the 8-1 margin.  

Then, with the Saxons riding their opponent hard in the Chantilly defensive area, Adams intercepted a hasty pass by Simmons well outside his crease.  With the unguarded net beckoning from 25 yards, the Langley sharpshooter calmly lobbed the distance for his fourth of the game and the score that got Langley beyond the Chargers’ eventual goal count for the night.

But there was still more work to do with more than a half hour of game time remaining, and when Gorham met stiffer resistance during the ensuing face-off, it was Andersen who stuck his nose into the midfield scrum to secure control for his Saxons.  After a quick time-out followed by sustained possession for Langley, Ahearn found Bentz making the run cutting in toward Simmons’ goal, with the assisting pass from attacker to middie leading to the three-yard strike into the net.

Simmons managed to keep out a Saxon outside shot shortly after but was not quick enough to recover the loose ball that fell nicely for Adams, who scooped and slipped in for the 11-1 Langley lead with less than four minutes remaining in the first half.

It took all of 40 seconds from the opening face-off for the Saxon goal fury to commence.   Salzer pulled the trigger on the first of his two for the night with an assisting pass from Ahearn in the game’s first real action.  A Chantilly penalty gave Langley the early one-minute man advantage and a two-goal lead when Ahearn set-up Bentz for the man-up goal less than three minutes into the game. 

Simmons turned back shot attempts by Adams and Bentz but saw a third get by about a minute later.  Saxon sophomore Brad Dotson took a clearing pass from Spivey at the midfield line and ventured into the attack with space and passing options.  The longpole defender made the right choice when he fed the ball to Adams, who snapped in past Simmons with a left-hand shot from five yards for the 3-0 Langley lead.

Spivey was forced into some goal defending of his own when middie Jared Golden found some space to shoot twice but the Charger senior’s first effort from eight yards was snared by the Saxon goalie while his second sailed just wide of net.   Spivey saved another Chantilly shot before the Saxons mounted another assault at the other end, this one leading to Adams receiving Sandusky’s cross-crease pass in the right spot to dispatch past Simmons from just outside the crease to expand the Langley goal count to four.

Sandusky added his one for the night at the end of a dash toward the Charger goalie, with the unassisted goal cranked in from a sharp angle.  It was only then, after the five-goal offensive by the Saxons, that DeCenzo pulled one back for his Chargers with a little more than four minutes left in the first period.

Chantilly added a pair but not until late in the second frame with less than three minutes to half-time.  Fitzgerald launched from about eight yards after a quick burst from behind the cage area to his shooting position to get the Chargers second goal.  O’Connor added his one goal for the night about a minute later – a three-yarder with an assist from Westerman — for an 11-3 scoreline going into half-time.

Sandusky took but a minute of second-half time to unleash a five-yarder past Fairbank, who had replaced Simmons in the Chantilly net for the second half.   The Chargers looked to have breached the Langley defenses when an attacking Charger went up against Spivey but a timely stick-check by a trailing Dwyer eliminated the scoring threat.  The Saxons were in the hunt to harvest more goals with a man-up opportunity shortly after but Chantilly junior defender Drew Cormode provided the intercept and clearing run that depleted the man-advantage time for Langley.  But the Saxons got yet another Adams goal when Ahearn spotted his strike partner near the crease, and a quick reverse turn by the prolific attackman played Fairbank out of position for the easy snap-in score.  

Three goals by the Chargers in just 37 seconds — Louis from four yards, followed by and man-up goal by Westerman with an assist to Golden, then an unassisted strike from Penman — offered a little hope of a possible comeback, but Chantilly would get no closer than that seven-goal difference with the score 13-6.

Saxon junior middie Max Mullen looked to have slotted his effort past the Charger netminder but Fairbank managed to reach back at the right time to snare the shot just before the ball was crossing the plane of the frame into the cage.  Both teams then had apparent scores late in the third quarter ruled out due to crease violations. 

Adams added a pair early in the final quarter — with assists to Salzer and Langley junior middie Clay Rivers — before Wagner contributed his own near the midpoint of the fourth quarter. Adams had his shot blocked by Fairbank, who could only watch as the ball dropped to the goal scorer’s feet for the easy sweep into the net.

The Chargers had two more goals to show for their night’s efforts in a losing cause — late-game strikes by Bowers and Alcalde – on each side of the last for the Saxons, a man-advantage goal scored at the end of crisp passing between Sandusky and Ahearn to the nine-goal Adams for the finish.  Long, who had come into the game to replace Spivey for the fourth quarter, made a pair of saves in the waning moments of the game that brought Langley its third championship season to a triumphant conclusion.

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Submitted by Langley Lacrosse:

June 8, 2011: The Langley Saxons engraved another entry into the cornerstone that is their expanding lacrosse tradition with a gutsy, 10-7 come-from-behind triumph over a battling Annandale Atoms squad in a VHSL state play-off semi-final battle at Westfield High School in Chantilly on Wednesday.   Langley attackman Mike Adams delivered a robust six goals, but the standout performance in the sweltering, late afternoon heat was a resilient Saxon defense subduing a lively Atomic strike force that only two weeks earlier had shredded the Langley rearguard in a 7-1 first-quarter ambush on the way to an emphatic, 12-8 Northern Region tournament semi-final victory for Annandale.  

The half-time coach talk in the latest clash — from Head Coach Earl Brewer and defensive coach T.J. Doremus — proved an effective tonic, as the Saxons this time proceeded to hold their opponent to one goal from that point forward, overcame a three-goal deficit from the start of the third quarter and treated the Atoms to a 7-1 second-half shakedown that earned Langley a place in the state final for the third time in as many years.

Attackers Sean Ahearn and J. T. Meyer, and middie Clay Rivers, joined Adams in the scoring column, with Ahearn providing a pair to go with single goals from Rivers and Meyer.  Annandale senior Nick Lalande had a hat-trick while seniors Stephen Craig, Peter Hagen and Nathan Miller, and junior Andrew Risse, scored one each.

Goalies at both ends — junior Andrew Spivey for the Saxons and sophomore Joe Bermingham for the Atoms — were kept busy throughout the proceedings and were credited with 12 and 11 saves, respectively.  Langley face-off middie Spencer Gorham commanded the center spot claiming the bulk of possession in the game, crucially during the late-game goal surge by the Saxons.

The Northern Region second-seed Atoms (16-4) had claimed their spot in this state semi-final with a 13-8 road win against the Region AA first seed E.C. Glass Hilltoppers (18-2) in Lynchburg on Saturday, while Northern Region third-seed Langley (18-3) needed a second extra period to slip by the Northwest Region first-seed Battlefield Bobcats (16-3) in a 6-5 overtime win in Haymarket on Friday. 

But the contest lingering on the minds of the two combatants on Wednesday was perhaps the recent region semi-final that saw Head Coach Bill Magiscleau’s Annandale boys exploit their attacking prowess to secure a berth in the state play-offs at the expense of the current titleholders, who managed a few days later to grab the last state play-off slot available to the Northern Region with a consolation game win over West Springfield.        

Wednesday’s encounter looked to be shaping up the way the prior game between the two sides had unfolded — from early consecutive strikes by the Atoms leading up to a 6-3 lead at half-time, and 7-4 margin very early in the second-half nearly identical to the 8-4 Annandale advantage at half-time in late May. 

But a six-goal run and shutout defense for all but the first minute of the second half paved the way for Saxons to finish in comprehensive form.  Langley erased a three-goal deficit late in a span of only 88 seconds late in the third quarter.  Adams began his work on a second hat-trick when he twisted his way to an unassisted shot and score from just outside the crease after junior defender Nick Rifken mounted a vital clearing run at the start of the build-up.  Rivers followed with an overhand strike after the junior dodged and ran to a shooting position from five yards out for the unassisted score.  Ahearn then muscled his way against his defensive marker to gain a shooting angle from four yards out to level the score at 7-7.

Adams resumed the assault early in the final quarter at the end of a superb passing sequence, from Meyer to senior attacker Jack Sandusky, then on to Ahearn for the assisting pass on the goal giving Langley the lead, its first against the Atoms in a little more than seven periods of play this year.

Saxon junior Hunter Bentz slipped the ball past Bermingham into the net three minutes later but the middie was cited for a crease violation, which nullified the goal.  The ninth did arrive for Langley, just after the Atom goalie appeared to have disrupted Ahearn’s feed-in pass to Meyer lurking near the crease, but the Saxon freshman was quickest to control and deposit into the cage for the two-goal lead.  Adams then closed out his second hat-trick of the day when his six-yard shot less than three minutes before the final horn was deflected on its way to the cage and past the embattled Annandale goalie for an insurance goal with an assist for Sandusky.      

Opening-quarter strikes from Craig and Lalande — each unleashing unassisted, close-in bounce shots out of unsettled play — staked the Atoms to an early, deserved lead.   Langley had its first real chance ring off the cage pipe in the early going, then a 10-yard bid from senior middie Dan Gallucci that was easily saved by Bermingham. 

Annandale looked to be getting its full stride when it was awarded a one-minute man-advantage shortly after Lalande’s goal, but a timely interception by sophomore defender Robbie Byrne reduced the danger for the Saxons.  Langley senior Davis Wagner then made the cut at the right time to get his bounce shot from three yards on goal at the other end but the Atom netminder was ready for the stop.

Bermingham had to be more alert to parry a crease-side attempt by Adams right as the horn signaled the end of the first period.  The Saxon junior was more successful at the very start of second-quarter play when he collected the ball that had dribbled out of the scrum just after the face-off and rifled into the net from distance to cut the early Atom lead in half.

Annandale responded with a three-goal burst during a stretch of play when unforced errors by Langley set up the Atoms well for scoring chances.  Risse pitched in past Spivey from six yards after the middie was set up nicely by senior middie Andy Craig.  Hagen then advanced along the sideline near midfield and into attack, with the longpole defender snapping a bounce shot in past Spivey from eight yards, followed a minute later by Miller’s low shot drilled in from ten yards that eluded the Saxon goalie and earned an assist for Annandale sophomore attacker James Terrell.

Spivey was needed for a save shortly after the ensuing face-off, and with that a transition, some unsettled play at midfield, then a three-pass sequence that had Adams feeding Ahearn for the finish and a 5-2 score-line.  Lalande then got his second goal of the game that restored the four-goal lead.   A Langley turnover gave the Atoms momentum in yet another transition sequence that culminated in the Annandale middie gathering the loose ball near the crease and dispatching past Spivey from four yards.

But a slash infraction gave the Saxons a man-advantage with about 30 seconds remaining in the second quarter, and in a matter of a few seconds from the re-start Ahearn had supplied Adams the ball for the swift, man-up strike that cut the Atoms’ lead down to three at the close of the first half.

Annandale junior attacker Ryan Miller had the first say to start the second half but his effort from seven yards went wide of net.  A subsequent turnover in the midfield area soon after gave Ahearn another opportunity to set up his strike partner Adams, who was allowed to venture in alone against Bermingham and dispatch into the net to complete a hat-trick.

The Atoms were quick to recover the three-goal margin though when Lalande struck at the end of a crisp, three-pass tic-tac-toe play that had attacker Craig and sophomore middie Zack Lalande setting up the older Lalande brother for the four-yard score and the final third of a hat-trick for his efforts.

But that was the last of the entries into the Annandale side of the scoring ledger.   Langley defenses contained the Atoms’ attacking options from that point, with Byrne, senior Brenden Dwyer, junior Chandler Suk and sophomore Brad Dotson securing their defensive zone, and Spivey furnishing the solid last line of resistance, to help send the Saxons to another state final.

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Langley's Sean Ahearn Grabs Game-Winner in Second OT

Submitted by Langley Lacrosse:

June 3, 2011: A game-winner in double overtime by attacker Sean Ahearn rescued the Langley Saxons from an early, first-round dismissal from the VHSL boys lacrosse play-off tournament at Battlefield on Friday.   Bobcat senior middie Jon Hanlon had pounced with just 14 seconds remaining in regulation to level the score at 5-5 setting the stage for a pulsating, sudden-death conclusion to the quarterfinal battle between the Northwest Region first-seed Battlefield (16-3) and the Northern Region third-seed Langley (17-3).

Head Coach Kevin Marsh’s Bobcats saw their Saxon foe cultivate a 3-0 lead by the latter stages of the first half — and its sustained possession on the verge of yielding more goals — a margin that looked good value for the road win with goals at a premium as halftime was nearing.  But the hosts had other ideas and quickly fired in a pair late in the second quarter that surely altered the disposition of the knockout contest when play resumed after the break.

The two sides alternated goals in the second half, starting with an equalizer for Battlefield early in the third quarter and culminating with Hanlon’s game-tier that forced extra time.   Goalies at both ends played no small part in the relatively low score-line, with Bobcat senior Connor Mullins and Langley junior Andrew Spivey deploying outstanding blocks, several on point-blank attempts from just outside the crease, during a vigorous second half and the riveting overtime stages.  The two netminders were credited with ten and eight saves, respectively.

In addition to Hanlon’s pivotal strike, Battlefield got goals from attackers Cory Schumacher — with the senior delivering a hat-trick — and junior Sam McCain.  Saxon senior Jack Sandusky and freshman J. T. Meyer joined Ahearn with single goals from the attack position while sophomore middie Luke Salzer supplied a pair to go with one goal from senior middie Dan Gallucci.

Possession swung both ways with frequent end-to-end build-ups as each side searched for the sudden finish that would secure a berth in a play-off semi-final next Wednesday at Westfield High School in Chantilly.   Bobcat supporters thought the spot was theirs early in the first extra period but a promising 6-yard angled shot by Schumacher had settled into the side-netting outside the cage. 

Then, late in the second overtime, senior defender Brendan Dwyer initiated a rapid clear with a pass into attack to longpole defender Chandler Suk, who picked out Ahearn near Mullins’ crease.  The Langley senior still needed to spin, feint and twist in order to find the opening to dispatch past the stalwart Battlefield goalie and send Head Coach Earl Brewer’s Saxons on to another game by the slimmest of margins against a valiant Bobcat squad.  

Langley will face the winner of a June 4 quarterfinal in Lynchburg between Northern Region second-seed Annandale Atoms (15-3) and AA Region first-seed E. C. Glass Hilltoppers (18-1).

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Submitted by Langley Lacrosse:

May 26, 2011: The Langley Saxons fashioned an 11-7 victory over the West Springfield Spartans at Oakton High School on Thursday to claim the third and final Northern Region berth in the upcoming 2011 VHSL boys lacrosse state championship tournament.   Langley awaits the outcome of the Northwest Region play-off final on Friday, between the Albemarle Patriots (18-0) and Battlefield Bobcats (15-2) at Battlefield in Haymarket, with the winner hosting the Saxons in the first round of the state tournament starting in early June. 

The Saxons grabbed the game’s first goal less than three minutes from the start and never relinquished the lead.  West Springfield refused to capitulate, however, and to the end forced Langley to work hard to preserve its winning margin.   During one stretch of the final period the Patriot District Spartans fired in three quick goals to reduce their deficit to three and make for some nervous moments along the Saxon sideline even with the 10-7 advantage and less than five minutes remaining until the final horn.    

But the Langley defenses, bolstered by some sharp goalkeeping by junior Andrew Spivey, maintained poise soaking up any further attacking pressure that West Springfield mounted in the late stages.  

The Saxon attack force of senior Jack Sandusky, and juniors Mike Adams and Sean Ahearn, netted three, three and four goals, respectively, the first time in 19 games this campaign the trio each delivered a hat-trick or better in the same game.   Langley freshman J. T. Meyer, another attacker, provided the opening score.

Spartans Jack Flewellyn and Zach Hart — both senior attackers — supplied two goals apiece to go with a pair from sophomore middie Tyler Sutter and one goal from senior middie Lee Gleason.

Spivey was credited with ten saves but needed some back-up from senior goalie Ryan Long, who stopped a couple of man-advantage scoring bids early in the fourth quarter when Spivey was serving a 60-second penalty.   Senior goalie Kevin Young guarded the net for West Springfield and had seven saves in the game. 

Head Coach Earl Brewer’s Saxons have now reached the state play-offs for the third year in a row, the first time a Northern Region team has done so since the current three-region, eight-team state play-off format was implemented in 2006.  Langley (16-3) was the Northern Region’s first seed in 2009 and second seed in 2010, in both years going on to win the final and with that the state championship honors.   

With the loss, Head Coach Scott Settar’s Spartans finish their 2011 season with a 12-8 record, having stalled just one game short of advancing to the state tournament.

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Annandale senior generates meltdown of Langley containment, early and often 

Submitted by Langley Lacrosse:

May 24, 2011: Senior attackman Nate Miller delivered an impressive six goals, five during the first period alone, in a 12-8 Northern Region semi-final triumph for the Annandale Atoms (15-2) over defending state champions Langley Saxons (15-3) at Oakton High School on Tuesday.   The Atoms smashed their way to a 7-1 lead by the end of the first quarter, and had the Saxons looking up at a four-goal deficit with an 8-4 score at halftime and 10-6 going into the last quarter. 

Langley, which was forced into chasing the game from nearly the beginning, managed to close to within two late in the third period, but Annandale struck back smartly with a pair to tighten its grip on the win going into the final frame.  The two sides traded goals during a final quarter that featured some chippy play and penalties in the late stages.

In addition to Miller, the Atoms got single goals from three other attackers — seniors Stephen Craig and Nick Lalande, and junior Ryan Miller — as well as from sophomore middie Zack Lalande, and from senior defenders Peter Hagen and Bob Stevens.  Stevens unleashed a speculative shot a few strides past the midfield line that found its way into the guarded net with only a couple seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Junior attacker Mike Adams and senior attacker Jack Sandusky each provided a pair of goals for the Saxons to go with single goals from junior attacker Sean Ahearn, senior middie John Martins, and junior middies Hunter Bentz and Max Mullen. 

Goalies were busy at both ends of the field, with Langley junior Andrew Spivey and Annandale sophomore Joe Bermingham getting credit for 11 and 6 saves, respectively.   

With the win, Coach Bill Maglisceau’s Atoms advance to the Northern Region championship final at Robinson Secondary School this Thursday against the Chantilly Chargers (18-1), 14-7 winners over the West Springfield Spartans earlier on Tuesday at Oakton.  Coach Earl Brewer will lead his Saxons to the Region’s third-place game against West Springfield (12-7) on Thursday at Oakton, with the Northern Region third-seed spot in the VHSL State play-offs available to the winner.   The Region’s first and second seed spots will go to the winner and loser, respectively, of the Region final.

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Submitted by Langley Lacrosse:

May 19, 2011: A four-goal night for Oakton middie Sean Schweicker was not enough to cancel out his Cougars’ sluggish first half of a season-ending, 11-7 Northern Region quarterfinal loss to the Langley Saxons on Thursday night.   Oakton middies Mike Durst, Cory Harris and Brad Mason added single goals of their own during an inspired comeback bid, but the six-goal lead the Saxons had forged by the later stages of the second period eventually proved too steep for the Cougars to overcome on Langley’s home ground.

Saxon attackers Mike Adams, Sean Ahearn and Jack Sandusky, and middie Hunter Bentz, each provided two goals, while defender Robbie Byrne and middies Luke Salzer and Spencer Gorham scored one apiece in a winning cause.

Langley junior Andrew Spivey guarded the cage and was credited with nine saves while his Oakton counterpart at the other end, junior Connor Anderson, produced a dozen saves.

The Cougars had pared the deficit to two by the end of the third quarter, with a last-second strike by Schweicker to close out the third frame at 8-6, in addition to outstanding goalkeeping by Anderson during that period, giving the visitors reason to believe that a complete recovery was within their reach.   But the Saxons wavered no further, with some superb shot stops by Spivey and fourth-quarter goals by Sandusky, Bentz and Gorham providing the cushion the hosts needed to get to the finish line a few strides ahead.    

Oakton found its way to the Regional quarterfinal against Langley with a 10-7 win on the road against National District second seed Edison Eagles (10-5).  The Saxons booked their passage to the contest with a smooth 16-0 victory over Patriot District fourth seed T.C. Williams (7-9).  The Cougars hosted Langley in a regular season, out-of-district meeting in early May that went the Saxons way in a 15-4 workover just prior to the two teams’ respective district play-offs.

Anderson, who was unavailable for the earlier encounter due to a hand injury, was back in net for Oakton, although junior middie and face-off specialist Evan Lalande was forced to watch his Cougars from the sideline due to his having sustained a concussion suffered in Oakton’s Concorde District semifinal game against Robinson.   Langley had all troops accounted for and fully healthy to face the Cougars.

And the Saxons started the evening much the way they managed the previous meeting against Oakton, gliding to a 5-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and up 6-1 late in the first half.  When Salzer snapped in a bounce shot past Anderson with less than three minutes left to the half it looked as though nothing could really go wrong for the Saxons this night.

Byrne grabbed the game’s first goal right out of the opening face-off, with the sophomore receiving an assisting pass from senior longstick winger Brenden Dwyer and drilling in past Anderson for the dream start in the first minute of play.

Ahearn doubled the lead for Langley at the midpoint of the opening quarter, shooting in from ten yards at the end of an assist from Salzer.  Sandusky added a third less than a minute later, followed by an Adams’ strike from near the crease that was set-up by Salzer.

The Cougars were awarded a man advantage late in the opening period but a choking Saxon defense, and a timely block and steal by Byrne, prevented Oakton from getting off any shots during the stretch.  Adams then added a second goal at the end of a superb, end-to-end sequence that saw Salzer gaining possession deep in his defensive half from where he fed fellow middie Clay Rivers to complete the swift clear.   The Langley junior picked out Ahearn, who in turn fed Adams for the finish and a 5-0 Saxon lead with 21 seconds left in the period.

Sandusky then set up Bentz to shoot in low past Anderson from 12 yards out early in the second quarter for a 6-0 Saxon advantage.   The Cougars finally solved Spivey, with Harris rifling in from five yards out with an assist from junior middie Stephen Lambrides. 

Salzer’s goal restored the six-goal lead for the Saxons, followed by Adams coming close to adding another in the final minute before the intermission but Anderson executed a terrific point-blank save to keep his Cougars within a half dozen.   Then Schweicker connected with a deflected pass that had fallen to his feet, which allowed the junior to grab the groundball and fire in past Spivey only seven seconds before the half-time horn, the late-arriving score seeming merely an afterthought rather than any hint of things to come.

That goal, and Coach Grif Barhight’s half-time talk, was surely the tonic for an Oakton fightback.   And that commenced swiftly after the re-start when Langley defender Chandler Suk mishandled the ball in his defensive area after his support had made their advance.  Mason was the beneficiary of the loose ball and ample, unguarded space between him and the Saxon goalie, and the junior dispatched past Spivey from 12 yards out barely a minute into the second half. 

The Cougars nearly added a fourth goal only two minutes later when Langley senior middie John Martins allowed the ball to trickle from his possession in toward Spivey’s crease but the goalie was alert to the danger and prevented the easy score.  But Oakton then was awarded a man advantage cdue to a slashing penalty, which allowed Schweicker to furnish a nicely taken extra-man goal from eight yards out with another assist for Lambrides.

The Cougars continued with possession after the ensuing face-off and were rewarded with Schweicker’s third of the game just over a minute later, with senior attacker Sean Miller providing the assist, to get Oakton within a pair of goals with the score now 7-5.

Adams forced Anderson into a fine save soon after, followed by a stretch of play with the Saxons defense conceding possession rather cheaply and yielding a series of shots that Spivey turned away.  An illegal body check call then gave Langley a one-minute man advantage that saw heavy assault from the Saxons, with Bentz then Ahearn hitting the goal pipe, followed by Anderson stopping another promising shot from Bentz.

Ahearn finally fired in past Anderson late in the third quarter on a left-handed shot from six yards off of an assisting pass from Adams to increase the margin again to three.  But Schweicker supplied his third goal of the period with only one second remaining in the frame at the end of a nice move that had the junior curling around from behind the cage and flicking in from close range for the 8-6 score.

But that was as close as the Cougars would get to leveling matters.   Extra-man goals from Sandusky and Bentz doubled Langley’s lead to four goals, although traffic in front of goal was heavy at both ends, with Spivey needing to be quick to grab a menacing outside shot from Oakton sophomore attacker Jack Harris, and Anderson put to the test by a couple of searching shots by Salzer and an Ahearn volley that was kept out by the pipe.

Durst employed a swim move to get by his marker and snap in past Spivey late giving the Cougars some hope, but Gorham claimed possession on the following face-off, broke free from the scrum and took advantage of an unguarded net during Oakton’s effort to press the play forward, shooting in from distance to seal victory for his Saxons.

Oakton, the tournament’s third seed from the Concord District, finishes its season with a 9-9 record overall.  With the win, Liberty District top seed Langley (15-2) moves on to a semi-final contest at Oakton next week against Patriot District top seed Annandale Atoms (14-2), who were 9-8 winners over the Robinson Rams (10-5) on Thursday.

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