Undefeated seasons continue with wins against Westfield
Boys, girls lacrosse have early success due to offensive power
Senior Corey Aferiat dodges a Centreville defender as he heads toward the ball. Chantilly crushed Centreville 16-1 to continue their six-game winning streak. PHOTO BY JON ROSER
By Jon Roser
April 25, 2008
Both the boys and girls lacrosse teams remain undefeated as of April 21 with 13-2 and 8-5 wins respectfully against the Westfield Bulldogs on April 17; the boys record is 9-0 and the girls is 8-0.
The girls team beat the Fairfax Rebels 16-1 on April 10.
The team was up 11-1 at the half and won despite injuries to sophomore midfielder Liz Dunwoody and senior midfielder Sara Garrison in the first and early second half.
Although the team is 8-0 and has been winning by big margins, coach Michele Gates said the team needs to condition more and get stronger in order to remain in “game shape” and keep up their success.
“We’re going to get everybody healthy,” Gates said. “We’re going to get good passes and more ground balls [to improve].”
Junior midfielder Katie Stillwell said the reason for the team’s success is that they have multiple players who stand out on the field, unlike past years when the team was focused on only one or two players. Stillwell also said the team needs to match-up better defensively on opponents.
“We need to improve on defense,” Stillwell said. “We can always work on fundamentals. Catching, passing, we can always improve on that.”
Senior midfielder and attack Jake Nolan is the leading assister for the boys team, and coach Kevin Broderick attributed the team’s 9-0 record to its ability to work together on the field and play off each other, with Nolan’s leadership.
“This year he’s one of our leading assist guys,” Broderick said. “And he’s taking it upon himself to make his teammates better.”
Ten different players scored in the team’s 16-1 win over Centreville on April 9, and four had multiple goals, including senior attack and midfielder Joe Fratter, who scored three times.
“We did a good job of controlling the ball on offense and not forcing our passes,” Fratter said.
Broderick said the way the team effectively works together was evident by the fact that every goal except one in the Centreville game was assisted.
The team beat the Robinson Rams 13-10 on March 31 after being down in the first quarter.
“[The Rams] are a two-time defending state champion, so that’s a big win,” Broderick said.
Fratter said the win against the Rams defined the solidity of the team’s program, and that they were able to come away victorious because of their effective practices.
“Because we have so much talent on the team, both sides [offense and defense] are getting great practice [by scrimmaging against each other],” Fratter said.
The team’s leading scorers are senior attackers Kevin O’neill, Ian Mills, Tyler Ott and Fratter.