Lady Statesmen Claim Pair on Courts
The George C. Marshall girls tennis team came away with a pair of wins this week, including a 5-4 squeaker over Langley on March 22.
With the match tied at three apiece after the singles competition, the top two doubles teams from each school split their matches, leaving the overall outcome in the hands of Marshall’s No. 3 tandem, freshman Lauren Hopwood and sophomore Christina Nguyen. The pair from Marshall eventually prevailed 10-7 to clinch the victory for the Statesmen.
Last night, Marshall bested rival Madison 8-1 in a match that was closer that the score indicated according to Marshall assistant coach Robin Crider.
Senior Alexis Hickman and junior Brooke Blackwell, playing No. 1 doubles, secured the clinching fifth point for Marshall by winning their match. Other winners included Blackwell in her No. 1 singles match, Hickman at No. 2 singles, Amanda Crider (No. 3 singles), Marlecia Fuller (No. 5) and Christina Nguyen (No. 6). Amanda Crider and Fuller won No. 2 doubles, while Kelly Crider and Astrid Adam won at No. 3 doubles.
Stringer Scores Twice, but Statesmen Slip
A pair of losses this week leave the Marshall High School boys varsity soccer team riding a three-game losing streak into spring break.
Last Thursday, the Statesmen dropped a 4-2 decision to Wakefield, despite out-shooting their opponents two to one (22 to 11). Senior Nabil Haji-Abuke and junior Brendan Stringer each scored for Marshall in the loss, while goalkeeper Jose Mejia made four saves.
The outcome did not improve as Marshall began district competition against South Lakes on Monday night. Stringer against tallied for the Statesmen, while Wally Al-Kakan posted five saves in net.
Marshall next travels to Annandale for a match April 10.
Pair of One-Goal Victories Puts Mason at 3-0
The George Mason High School girls varsity lacrosse team started its season by rattling off three wins last week, including a pair of one-goal wins over both Loudon County and Freedom.
Mason notched its first win of the season in an 18-2 win over Wakefield last Wednesday, March 21. The Mustangs scored less than 30 seconds into the game and continued to pour on the offense from there. Sophomore Sally Blakemore was the high scorer for Mason, racking up six goals and one assist. Junior Allie Atkeson notched a hat trick with three goals and three assists. Hannah Baumgardner began the game in goal for Mason, but moved to midfield in the second half and notched a goal before the game was through.
Things were much closer in the season’s second game against Loudon County. After Loudon tied the score with three minutes left, Blakemore scooped up the rebound of an Atkeson shot and slipped it past the Loudon goalie with 35 seconds left in the game. Blakemore again led all scorers with five goals. Senior Catherine Duarte and junior Bailey Walton each added a goal for Mason. Baumgardner turned aside 11 shots in goal.
Mason jumped ahead 4-0 against Freedom, but led just 5-3 at the half. After Freedom tied the score at 7, Mason scored with 5:24 left to clinch the victory. Duarte and Gwen Edwards each scored twice for the Mustangs.
“Draw controls were the difference in this game,” Mason Head Coach Kara Hanover said. “We were able to win 13 of 20 draws. This allowed us to settle the ball in our offensive end of the field.”
The wins over Loudon County and Freedom gives Mason a 2-0 record to start its Dulles District schedule.
Mason Splits Dulles District Openers
The George Mason High School boys varsity lacrosse team picked up a pair of wins last week, but dropped its first game of the season to Dulles District opponent Loudon County 8-2.
The Mustangs kicked off the stretch with a 12-0 shutout of Wakefield last Wednesday. A tight turnaround might have contributed to the narrow, two-goal loss to Loudon just a day later. Mason righted itself with a 10-4 drubbing of Freedom on Monday to improve to 3-1 on the season and .500 in the Dulles District.
Senior attackman Will Stewart is the team’s leading goal and point scorer, supported by a talented group of three freshmen: Nick Kuipers, Caleb Barrett and Mike Duning. The Mustangs suffered a significant setback when starting goalie Ewan Oglethorpe went down with an injury, but Duning and Tim Koning have stepped in to fill the void and Koning will man the net from here out.
Despite the hot start, new head coach Richard Costello says there is still room for improvement.
“We still need to sharpen our passing and catching skills and get a little more in synch on offense,” Costello said. “Clearing the ball has also been a bit of a challenge for us.”
