“We just weren’t playing very well,” Dave Breslin said. “But I told the kids that they had the next 24 minutes to do something special.“

“He hardly ever talks anymore, but he’d always know how many goals I’d scored and he’d say ‘Four goals?’ or ‘Seven goals?’ and give me a big high-five,” Jack Thomasson said.

Shutting Brittany Griel down proved tougher than anyone imagined as the Chantilly star scored six times to lead her team past the Patriots, 11-9.

The Warriors simply couldn’t find an answer for Chantilly’s defensive slide as the Chargers knocked Western out of the VHSL state tournament with a 10-5 semifinal victory at Westfield High Tuesday night.

The Cougars exploded for an eight-goal run through the third frame to take control and romp to a 14-3 victory to advance to the state championship game.

The Western Albemarle girls’ lacrosse team hosted Loudoun Valley in the VHSL quarterfinals on Saturday, and after falling behind early, battled back and came within inches of a hard-fought victory.
The Vikings prevailed in overtime, 9-8, ending the Warriors’ season.

The Warriors used a well-balanced attack to break to an early lead and the defense did the rest as they rolled to a 14-2 victory over Forest Park to earn a spot in the state semifinals next week.

Gus Cramer, who was recently named the Commonwealth District player of the year, posted 15 saves on the Atoms’ 19 shots on goal. In the process, Albemarle gutted out a 9-4 victory and a state semifinal berth against a hard-nosed Annandale squad. The Patriots will take on the winner of the Broad Run/Oakton contest Tuesday.

Margaret Moss and the rest of the Albemarle girls lacrosse team know a little about the laws of nature — mainly that one thing leads to another.

At the conclusion of every national anthem at an Albemarle lacrosse game, just after you hear ‘Home of the…’ the players shout ‘Patriots!’ On Friday night, they faced Patrick Henry’s Patriots for the right to play for the Northwest Region title and proved why they roar at opposing teams to let them know whose house it is.

After a two-week layoff, Albemarle’s girls’ lacrosse team used a quick start and leadership from its seniors to roll past visiting Battlefield in the Northwest Region quarterfinals, 19-4.

“We started to really be conscious of how far out we were extending,” said Albemarle coach Pat McAdams. “We really protected the front of the goal and made some real timely slides.”

Western Albemarle’s girls lacrosse team faced its toughest test thus far in the postseason against Broad Run — and passed with flying colors.

Jordan Haws set the table for Wheeler on four of her eight goals as Western blew past Potomac Falls for a 19-4 victory in the Region II semifinals Monday night.

Max Pfeifer scored a pair of goals and assisted on another during a critical second half run that lifted Western to a 15-10 victory in the Region II semifinal Monday night.

It was only fitting that the biggest game of the year for the St. Anne’s-Belfield boys lacrosse team came to an end in thrilling fashion.

Who says nice guys finish last? Covenant boys lacrosse coach Dave Breslin is regarded as one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet throughout the Central Virginia lacrosse community.

Often in important games, it is the senior leaders who will step up and make the big plays. And for St. Anne’s-Belfield in its VISAA Division I semifinal game against Collegiate on Friday, that player was Jack Thomasson.

In the Commonwealth District championship, Albemarle was in a dogfight most for the first three quarters against North Stafford, but the Patriots dominated the latter stages of the game to pull away 15-8 on Friday night.

Every team in every sport peaks at some point in the season. And for the most part, the team that saves its best for the postseason ends up with the silverware.

The only thing that has interrupted Western Albemarle’s Jefferson District tournament dominance is the canceled tournament in 2007. The Warriors’ opponents certainly haven’t gotten the job done.

Western Albemarle’s Stephanie Warren doesn’t pile up many points, but the senior has been a force on draw controls and ground balls all year.

Albemarle’s boys lacrosse team continued to dominate its competition in the Commonwealth District on Wednesday. This time, the Patriots defeated visiting Colonial Forge 11-5 in the semifinals of the district tournament.

St. Anne’s-Belfield was missing a major piece of its puzzle Tuesday afternoon with senior goalie Zach Starsia out. But sophomore Austin Geisler, who’d never played a varsity game in his career, filled in admirably in the cage and St. Anne’s rolled to a 16-3 victory over Flint Hill Academy in the TILT state tournament quarterfinals.

St. Anne’s-Belfield may not have played its prettiest lacrosse of the season, but it made all the plays it needed to in order to secure a win over Virginia Episcopal in the VISAA quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon.

The Western Albemarle girls lacrosse team showed why it is the Jefferson District’s top team as it excelled in all facets of the game in a semifinal win over Charlottesville Tuesday night.

“She knows when to back off and let other people shine and she knows when to step up,” said Western Albemarle lacrosse coach Nancy Haws. “She is so unselfish that way.”

For a couple of years now, it’s largely been the Daniel Lieb show when Monticello’s lacrosse team takes the field.

After dispatching Western Albemarle on Tuesday, the St. Anne’s-Belfield boys lacrosse team turned its attention to another local rival in Covenant.

On the same night that the Patriots honored their seniors, they cruised past Monticello to a 14-3 win behind seniors Margaret Moss and Katie Tubridy, who combined for seven goals.