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Robinson girls, Chantilly boys win Concorde lacrosse titles
As the ball sailed toward her stick in the waning moments of Friday night's Concorde District girls lacrosse final, Robinson junior Megan Dunleavy was not sure exactly how much time was left on the clock. She did know that she needed to shoot quickly, however.
Dunleavy received the pass from teammate Allie Kimmelman in front of the Chantilly net and unleashed a shot that crossed the goal line a split second before the horn sounded, giving the Rams a 14-13 victory over the previously undefeated Chargers. It was the first district championship for Robinson since 2005.
“I knew it was crunch time,” said Dunleavy, who scored six goals in the game. “I had to get it in.”
Dunleavy's goal brought an end to a thrilling contest that saw six ties and three lead changes. The Chargers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, evoking memories of their overtime victory against Robinson on March 31 when they scored seven unanswered goals. But the Rams responded with three straight goals of their own to take a 3-2 advantage less than seven minutes into the game.
“I was worried, but I felt like we have grown so much as a team since the first time we played them,” Robinson coach Alison Neun said of her team's slow start. “I had confidence in my players that they were going to be able to pull it back and not let Chantilly take a big lead.”
Dunleavy and junior Sarah Moody each had three first-half goals, helping the Rams a 10-7 halftime lead. Chantilly scored four of the first five goals after the break, knotting the score at 11 with 17 minutes remaining. A Christina Patten tally for the Chargers tied the score, 13-13, with 11 minutes to play, and neither team would find the net again until Dunleavy broke through at the buzzer.
“Big momentum,” Dunleavy said of the win. “We're feeling good right now. We're going to keep rolling, we've got a lot of hard work to do.”
Added Neun, “It pumps us up, but the region is getting better ever year. While districts are important, we've got to keep looking ahead.”
In the Concorde District boys final, Chantilly got off to a fast start and held off a late Oakton rally to win the first district championship in team history, 9-7. Senior Kevin O'Neill scored three of his game-high four goals in the first quarter, helping the Chargers take a 5-0 lead after one. The Cougars got the only goal in the second quarter and trailed by four at halftime.
Back-to-back tallies from O'Neill and senior Corey Aferiat put Chantilly ahead 9-3 after three quarters, but Oakton scored four times in the fourth to make things interesting down the stretch.
“It hasn't sunk in yet,” said Chargers coach Kevin Broderick. “I'm just happy for the guys. It was something they really wanted and they worked hard for it. It's nice to see.”
Chantilly's junior goalkeeper Derek Kegerreis came up big in net, making six saves in the first half to thwart Oakton's offensive attacks.
“Their goalie was the difference in this game,” said Cougars coach Tony Gray. “In the beginning, if he didn't make those saves, this game would have been totally different. Kegerreis did an awesome job. He was like a wall tonight.”
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