Boys Lacrosse: Cougars Pull Out Win Over Hornets

After a tug-of-war for the lead for the first three quarters, the Oakton High boys lacrosse team broke out in the fourth quarter to defeat Herndon 12-8 on Tuesday to earn its second Concorde District win of the season.

The Cougars opened scoring with a goal from Jack Harris, with an assist from Evan Lalande, which the Hornets answered with two straight goals. Then the Cougars scored two straight goals of their own — an unassisted goal from Sean Schweiker and another from Harris on a pass from Lalande — to end the first quarter with a one-point advantage.

On an assist from Harris, Jeremy Marshall pulled the Cougars up 4-2 three minutes into the second quarter. The Hornets responded with a goal of their own, but the Cougars maintained a two-point advantage after a shot from Cory Harris landed in the back of the net. 

But the Cougars did not score again in the first half as the Hornets went on a 3-0 scoring spree to enter halftime with a 6-5 advantage. 

"We're a better team than we showed tonight," Coach Grif Barhight said. "Herndon is very well-coached, well-prepared, and we just came out flat. They played much better in the second half."

The Cougar defense bounced back in the second half, not allowing a goal in the third quarter as their own offense tallied two more goals from Jack Harris and Evan Lalande.

Goalkeeper Connor Anderson made five saves in the game.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Cougar offense, which went on a 5-2 scoring spree — on goals from Pat Goulding, Schweiker (2) and Harris (2) — to lift the Cougars over the Hornets for a decisive 12-8 victory. 

Harris led the team with five goals in Tuesday's game.

"He's been quietly producing quite a few points for us," Barhight said. "He doesn't really create opportunities for us, but he definitely finishes them."

The Cougars (2-2 Concorde) will host Westfield at 7:15 p.m. Friday in their penultimate game of the regular season.

"Westfield's a tough team, so it should be a good game. I'm looking forward to facing them," Barhight said. "If we can clean up some of , use what we've learned since then, I think we'll be fine."