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Cougars defy all odds
It wasn't supposed to happen this way, at least according to critics of the Oakton girls lacrosse team.Though finishing the regular season at 4-4 doesn't secure an automatic berth into the Virginia state title game, the Cougars didn't forget how it felt when they were counted out.
And on Saturday at Westfield High School, Oakton took the field for what became the final exclamation point of an eight-win turnaround, a 20-11 drubbing of rival Chantilly (17-3) that resulted in the school's third consecutive state championship.
“We had a lot of naysayers in the beginning,” said Oakton coach Jean Counts, whose team wrapped up its season with a 12-5 record. “When you finish .500 in the regular season, who thinks you're going to end up at the state tournament and win it?”
The Cougars entered the treacherous Concorde District's postseason tournament as the No. 4 seed, and after a 15-7 win over Herndon, Counts and Co. tried to avenge a late-season loss at Chantilly but instead suffered yet another one-goal defeat to the Chargers.
However, with a red-hot run through the Northern Region tournament, the pieces of the puzzle started to fit together and the Cougars realized that they could win in a variety of ways.
They've won with Ashley Kimener's stick skills, as evidenced by the midfielder's nine-goal performance that highlighted a 12-10 win over Chantilly in the Northern Region title game.
They've won with timely secondary scoring, which happened to propel Oakton to a 12-10 state semifinal win over Loudoun Valley. As Kimener dealt with an uncharacteristically sub-par shooting night, junior Blair Keffer led the way with a team-high five goals.
But on Saturday, Oakton won with both.
Kimener, who received a yellow card less than five minutes into the contest -- evoking memories of last year's state title game when two yellow cards forced her from the game in the first half -- scored a team-high seven goals and added two assists.
“I had a flashback because I didn't want to get kicked out again,” Kimener later admitted. “It was the state game and we wanted it. We weren't going to lose to them.”
At times the James Madison recruit was downright dominant, notching a natural hat trick -- three goals in succession -- during Oakton's pivotal 6-1 run in the first half that turned a tied game into a 9-4 advantage for the Cougars.
Senior Erin Sensabaugh provided the secondary scoring with five goals, while Keffer, senior Brittany Patriarca and Sarah Beth Rupp added two apiece.
“We've learned that we can use each other, look for each other, and really do well,” said Sensabaugh, sporting a yellow lei that she said emphasized team unity. “Ashley Kimener is obviously the best player on our team, but we just can't stick with her.”
For Counts, her emphasis has been on the team's work ethic. One day before a state championship appearance, Counts held a marathon practice, still trying to make adjustments and improvements to a lineup that features just as many youngsters as established stars.
“Our last practice was [Friday]. It was our 63rd practice of the year, and it was a three-hour practice because we were still working,” Counts said. “They worked so hard and I think that's why it's so gratifying because we were not favored at all.”
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