Sports
Chantilly Boys Lacrosse Pulls Away from Woodson
Captains lead the way, Charger's advance to regional semi-finals.
In a rematch of their season opener, the Chantilly Chargers defeated the Woodson Cavaliers 6-3 for their eighth consecutive win to advance to the regional semi-finals.
After taking a 3-0 lead, Chantilly allowed Woodson to pull back to within a goal in the second half, but a pair of fourth-quarter scores and great work in net by Eric Simmons secured the victory. Devon Westerman and Cole Fitzgerald each scored a pair, and Jared Golden added a goal and assist to the important victory.
Uncharacteristic of many high school teams in a game of this magnitude, both Chantilly and W.T. Woodson came out calm and collected and played with great discipline. Each team defended soundly while their opponents worked the ball methodically for the open shots, which at a distance were no problem for either keeper.
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The Chargers began to gain more of the possession on a furious attack late in the opening period. Golden looked to be just that with his first shot, but the dart pinged off the post with 3:30 to go. Seconds later, attacker Luke Bowers had a great chance in front of net, only to be robbed by an athletic save from the Woodson keeper. Golden got the ball again a minute later and found a cutting Daniel DeCenzo for the opening goal.
The Chargers almost extended the lead before the break, but Fitzgerald also saw his shot hit the pipe. Fitzgerald picked up where he left off in the second quarter, finally getting on the score sheet with a great goal in traffic. It looked as if the Chargers were going to run away with the game 90 seconds later when Westerman rifled a wild jump shot into the upper corner of the goal. Woodson showed why they belonged moments later with a goal and a pair of tremendous point-blank saves from their keeper Connor Wade.
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Determined not to succumb to the great play of Wade, the Chargers came out firing in the second half. Fitzgerald missed by inches, but Chantilly was able to back up the shot. Golden barely missed on two quick shots, but the third time was a charm as the senior captain regained the three-goal cushion for his team.
However the Cavaliers were not going to go out without a fight. After snagging the draw, they took complete control of the game, thwarting the Charger offense while pulling back two goals. Just when it looked as if the comeback was on, the reenergized Chargers were able to put the pressure back on Woodson, but again Decenzo and Fitzgerald were denied by the woodwork. Just when it seemed like Chantilly couldn’t buy a goal, an awkward deflection on a wild shot by Fitzgerald found its way into the back of the net.
Westerman contributed his second goal of the evening moments later on an isolation play called “Rondo”. Much like the star Celtic guard, Westerman waited for his teammates to spread out the zone, then put the moves on his defender before beating the keeper at an acute angle to ice the game. The Cavaliers took a few shots at getting back in the contest, but Simmons was simply too sold in net. He made a terrific point-blank save with less than two minutes remaining, and his teammates were able to run out the clock for the win.
The Chargers will now press on to face West Springfield, 11-8 winners over regional opponent Yorktown. That game can be seen at Oakton High School next Tuesday at 5 p.m.