STAB holds off Woodberry

St. Anne’s-Belfield was aware that Woodberry Forest was going to rally after the break. The only question was how close they’d get.
Woodberry couldn’t get close enough as the Saints pulled away late to take a 12-7 victory at home in a battle of two of the state’s top five teams.
St. Anne’s built a 6-0 lead in the opening half with a superb defensive effort. Zach Starsia finished the contest with 10 saves and the Saints defense helped hold a host of talented Woodberry attackers at bay.
“That’s the kind of half that we needed to have,” said St. Anne’s coach Doug Tarring. “Our defense in the first half was as good as we’ve been all year.”
Harry Snyder led the Saints, currently ranked No. 3 in Virginia, with six goals and an assist. The senior attacker also spearheaded the Saints’ ride - he levied a monster check that halted a Tiger clear with just over five minutes left and helped St. Anne’s reverse the momentum late.
After Woodberry closed the score to 9-7 with under three minutes to play on back-to-back goals by Griffin Burke, the Saints’ attack took over. Senior Jack Thomasson buried a shot off a Snyder pass just seconds after Burke’s tally.
A possession later, Thomasson made a nice feed to Chapin Speidel for another goal, and Snyder capped off the run with his sixth goal. In a matter of less than two minutes, fourth-ranked Woodberry went from down two and in contention to down five.
“We’ve got three quality attackmen [Snyder, Thomasson and Owen Van Arsdale],” Tarring said. “Those three guys really need to control the game and they did a very, very good job today.”
The Tigers’ first half put them in too deep of a hole to climb out, but a determined second half at least proved that St. Anne’s wouldn’t get the pleasure of a walkover. Senior Colton Soref had a pair of goals in the second half to help spark the rally. Woodberry’s ability to control loose balls (a 34-28 advantage) also helped drive the comeback attempt.
“In the second half we played Woodberry lacrosse - we were getting up and down the field, making smart decisions, finishing our opportunities and playing with heart,” said Woodberry coach Brian Hemming. “In the first half, truthfully, we did not do that all. For that first 24 minutes we just kind of wandered around the field.”
Things unraveled for Woodberry late as the Saints poured it on. Thomasson and Speidel each had a pair of goals while Andrew McCullough dished out two assists. Ryan Mattie and Van Arsdale had a goal each while Van Arsdale added an assist. Speidel also had a pair of assists.
Both Woodberry and St. Anne’s will be in the state tournament that will start May 13, but a few games remain on the schedule. Woodberry will take on St. Christopher’s Saturday while the Saints will host Western Albemarle on Tuesday.