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Gar-Field
gets past Stonewall
By
John Taylor
Staff
Writer
One lacrosse team came into the match unbeaten, solidly in first place
in the Cardinal District. The host squad, meanwhile, had lost a match 20-5
less than a week ago.
Both squads put that history aside Wednesday night, as Gar-Field reasserted
itself with a 5-4 home win over Stonewall Jackson, which suffered its first
loss of the season.
The key for Gar-Field was changing the pace. The Indians (7-2) scored
the same number of goals they had in last Thursday’s blowout loss to Osbourn
Park. But they also played tougher defense against the high-scoring Raiders,
who came into the match averaging more than 11 goals per game. In its last
two wins, Stonewall (6-1) had scored 31 goals.
“We wanted to slow it down,” Indians coach Pat Hogan said.
“Gar-Field played their game,” Stonewall Jackson coach Dave
Platten said. “They stretched us out on offense, and they were patient
with the ball. That helped them.”
It also helped to start fast, which Gar-Field did thanks to leading scorer
Pat Roche. The Indians gained an early personnel advantage thanks to Stonewall
penalties, and the Gar-Field offense maintained control. Then with 7:37
remaining in the first period, Roche sliced hard around the goal from the
left and banged in the first goal of the game.
Just two minutes later, Roche fought off two Stonewall defenders and
again came from the left side and scored, giving Gar-Field a 2-0 lead.
“We knew they’d be gunning for [Roche] the whole time,” Hogan
said. “He’s very good with the dodge, rolling off people.”
Stonewall finally started getting back on track at that point. Parker
Terry, the Raiders’ leading scorer, notched the team’s first goal after
a time-out, cutting in and making the score 2-1.
Gar-Field’s Kyle Brebner scored in the second quarter to give the Indians
another two-goal lead. But after another Stonewall time-out, the Raiders
answered with two goals in 1:45 by Mohammed Hashsem and James Hovanesian,
which tied the game at 3-3 at halftime.
But after the break the Indians came out firing, with Roche again leading
the way. With his third goal, he wrapped around the goal from the backside
and fired his shot into the back of the net, earning his 10th goal in two
matches.
With the Indians working deliberately on offense, Colin Vento scored
seven minutes later while Stonewall was a man-down, giving the Indians a
two-goal advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
At that point, Gar-Field relied on its defense against the normally-potent
Stonewall attack. The Raiders managed only one more goal, a followup by
Derek Czarkowski, and finished with their lowest scoring output of the season.
The Raiders “knew what they needed to do,” Platten said. “But
they just got frustrated when things didn’t start to roll. We got frustrated,
and Gar-Field stayed patient.”
Gar-Field goalkeeper Rob Overman, who had five saves in the first half,
had more than that in the final session as Stonewall fired away. The senior
finished the game with 19 saves.
“That’s the best [performance] I’ve ever seen,” Hogan said
of his goalkeeper. “Last year, they’d shoot, and he’d get out of the
way.”
Overman’s improvement is symbolic of the Gar-Field program. Last season,
the Indians won only two games. Now, after upsetting the top-ranked Raiders,
Gar-Field stands in a tie for second place in the Cardinal behind Stonewall,
which with one loss merely fell a little closer to the pack.
And just to make things interesting, the two teams meat again tonight
in Manassas, as Stonewall Jackson hosts a rescheduled match against Gar-Field.
A win for Stonewall would put more distance between itself and the pack,
while a Gar-Field loss would create a first-place tie.
“Our guys are definitely fired up,” Platten said, “and
if they aren’t I don’t know what it will take.”
In girls lacrosse action:
n HYLTON 10, OSBOURN PARK 8: The Bulldogs fought back from a 4-0 deficit
to remain unbeaten at 6-0. Erin Kordis led the way offensively, scoring
three goals for the hat trick. Hylton’s Lacey Milburn had two goals and
an assist, Hadley Silver scored twice and Nathalie Musashe had a goal and
an assist.
Hylton goalkeepers Julie Ross and Christine Haddad combined for 13 saves.
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