The St. Anne’s-Belfield lacrosse team spends most of its March looking to play as many nationally ranked teams they can. Take Maryland’s Gilman and St. Mary’s for example. But on the first day of April, the Saints will take a break from their quest to play the best teams in the country to take the field against one of their strongest local rivals.
Six days before STAB hosts Xavier from Kentucky, the Saints will head to Crozet with the hopes of maintaining their status as the top team in Central Virginia.
As far as crowds go, perhaps only the throng at the Louisa County/Orange County baseball games rivals the matchup between the Saints and Warriors boys lacrosse teams.
It’s not hyperbole to say that lacrosse is the staple sport for STAB and Western, and over the years, they’ve been the best or second best in their respective private and public sectors. And with the Saints having dominated this rivalry, these two teams come in with different mindsets.
There’s no question that when it comes to lacrosse recently, St. Anne’s has been the big bad dog on the block and every local team that plays them, whether it be Western, Covenant or Woodberry Forest, they all want to be the one to earn the bragging rights.
The Warriors come into this game with nothing to lose and everything to gain. In the earlier part of the decade, that mindset served Western well. And if they hope to give St. Anne’s all it can handle, they’re going to have to play with that same reckless abandon. Still, the Warriors come into the matchup with a growing confidence. Western cruised past Covenant in its first game before surviving a tight road against last year’s regular season Jefferson District champions in Salem.
As for St. Anne’s, when it comes to any of their local rivals, expect to see fireworks. As they’ve shown over the last few years, they’re more than happy to apply the early lessons learned at the beginning of their season on their Central Virginia foes. They play with a swagger, and until a team in this area snatches victory from them, expect that to continue. And while this senior class from St. Anne’s will be remembered over the long haul for having won back-to-back VISAA Division 1 championships, for many on this team, dominating locally is a major piece of the mission too.
Bouncing back
St. Anne’s lost to archrival St. Stephens & St. Agnes Friday, but the news wasn’t all bad.
One bright spot for STAB was the play of goalie Austin Geisler, who, despite surrendering 13 goals was brilliant throughout. Most of SSSA’s goals came from point-blank range or on extra man opportunities, often leaving the senior keeper helpless. Geisler has been solid at times to start the season against STAB’s murderer’s row of a schedule, but he looked particularly strong against SSSA, coming up with several acrobatic saves while also making some critical plays in the field.
Another reason for STAB’s troubles was the fact that St. Anne’s attackman Andrew Crockett’s absence due to injury had a ripple effect throughout the lineup. It forced Tim Werner, a midfielder, down onto attack, which in turn disrupted some of STAB’s midfield lines. Crockett, who led the Saints in scoring last year and had four goals and an assist against SSSA in the 2009 state title game, will likely return soon for the Saints.
“We really missed his scoring punch on that right side and his stick-handling,” said STAB coach Bo Perriello.
Crockett took a hard hit in one of STAB’s earlier games, and is being held out for precautionary reasons.
The Saints were able to get back on the winning track the following day as they rolled past Culver Academy 11-4.
Covenant’s girls soccer squad loses, but passes test
Covenant’s girls soccer team has gotten used to winning over the last few years during back-to-back state title runs, but occasionally a team has to test itself.
Covenant got that last week against a loaded Division I Collegiate squad that finished as the state runner-up last season against Norfolk Academy.
The Eagles fell 4-1, but they battled admirably against Collegiate, including Becky Patton, Collegiate’s electric forward and the incumbent Richmond Times-Dispatch player of the year. Patton finished with a pair of goals but got about all she could handle from Covenant’s Hannah Huemme, an eighth grader.
“I talked to our center back and our captain Liz Pinkerton and I said let’s not tell her until after the game and she said, ‘right, let’s not tell her’,” said Covenant coach Pat Campbell. “She was a little surprised that she was playing against a player that good, but she is a pitbull. I was really proud of her and the whole team.”
The Eagles also managed to keep it close despite the fact that starting goalie Anna Gilliam was out with an injury, forcing Lina Godine into goal. Godine was strong, battling against a dynamic set of Collegiate forwards.
Hannah Klein, who is shifting to forward from midfield where she lines up on her club team, scored the Eagles’ lone goal.
“She’s so creative, she can dribble, she can shoot, she can pass,” Campbell said. “She’s going to either assist or score for her a lot.”
