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Chantilly boys claim first state crown
The Chantilly boys lacrosse team was feeling comfortable, holding a 5-2 lead over Oakton just more than four minutes before halftime of Saturday's state championship, but then Mother Nature intervened. Flashes of lightning forced the teams off of the field, and according to Chargers coach Kevin Broderick, his players made it clear that they wanted to finish the game as soon as possible.
“They were worried we were coming back tomorrow,” Broderick said. “They said, 'Coach, if it means anything, we're ready to stay the whole night and get it done.' I said, 'I'll tell them your social schedule is wide open.' They were very happy to come back.”
The two teams were back on the field in about an hour, and Chantilly did indeed get it done, outscoring the Cougars 6-0 over the final 13 minutes to pull out a 12-5 victory. It was the first state championship in team history for the Chargers.
“I'm very excited for the guys,” Broderick said. “They came in with a lot of emotion, they were confident. I think that delay hurt us a little bit, but they came back playing their game and we finished the way we play – good team ball, quality defense, everybody participating. Great team win.”
Chantilly started off fast, taking a 4-0 lead after one quarter and the 5-2 lead into halftime after the weather delay. Oakton battled to within one at 6-5 late in the third quarter, but the Cougars would get no closer. Chargers senior Jake Nolan (2 goals, 1 assist) put an exclamation point on the win with a behind-the-back goal that was eerily similar to a goal by Kevin O'Neill that sealed Chantilly's win over Oakton in the Northern Region final.
“Kevin O'Neill taught me everything I know,” Nolan joked. “I just tried to go for it. Never done it before in a game. It was a pretty good time.”
Chantilly finishes its storybook season with a perfect record of 20-0, living by its mantra of 'One more,' which was printed on the t-shirts the Chargers wore to school on Friday.
“We were real confident in our ability to win games,” said senior Corey Aferiat (3 goals, 2 assists). “We didn't want to focus on how good we thought we could be. We just took it one game at a time and tried to get the job done every time we got on the field.”
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