Sports

Girls Lacrosse: Cougars Capture Repeat District Title

Oakton High routs Centreville 14-7 to win Concorde District Championship

When Coach Jean Counts saw the look of determination on the faces of her Oakton High girls lacrosse team before the start of the Concorde District Championship against the Centreville Wildcats on Friday, she knew the Cougars were in it to win.

"I looked at their faces when they got here today, and I knew they were ready," Counts said.

The Cougars defeated the Wildcats 14-7 for their second consecutive Concorde District title.

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"It's a huge deal to be on this field again, with these people and win for the second year," senior Carly Palmucci said. "And for the seniors, it's our last year, so we just had to make it happen."

The first time the two teams faced each other this season, the Cougars  only to still fall one goal short of tying the game.

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In Friday's title game the Cougars instead dominated from the start — the determination Counts saw in her players before the game coming to life on the field.

The Cougars opened scoring with an unassisted goal from Jackie Rupp, who led the game with five goals. After the Wildcats scored to tie, Alex Revel answered with her own unassisted goal. The Wildcats tied the game for the last time with 17:53 left in the first half before the Cougars pulled too far ahead for the Wildcats to catch up. 

Claire Stikeleather scored the go-ahead goal, then Carly Palmucci and Rupp each added two more goals, and Allison Turk netted one for the Cougars' 6-0 run to end the first half. 

"Last time we played Centreville, everybody was really nervous and there was like no confidence," Palmucci said. "Every practice we've been practicing exactly what happened, like if double teams would come and how we'd react. Now we're just working." 

Though the Wildcats opened scoring in the second half, the Cougars continued to pile on the points. Rupp scored her fourth and fifth goals of the night, while Clarke, Revel, Carly Palmucci and Danielle Palmucci tallied a goal in the second second half. The Cougars held the Wildcats five goals, posting a final score of 14-7. 

Counts said she also noticed subtle things in her team's style that showed confidence she hadn't seen from them yet.

"I was out-of-my-mind excited on Alex Revel's first goal because she just went straight to the hole rather than veer off, and that is a huge, huge deal because it shows they're believing in themselves," Counts said. "They had more confidence, clarity and control." 

She also noted Carly Palmucci's adjustments to the Wildcats defense against her. From the start of the game, the Wildcats face guarded her, making it difficult for her to even get to the ball.

"I figured out a way to run around the crease so the defender would get caught off guard. Once I got the ball, it was hard to take a one-on-one because Centreville has really good defense," Palmucci said. "The only way to work it was to drive, have this slide cut, and then pass off."

Palmucci led her team with three assists; Rupp also had one assist.

"It wasn't just the assists, Carly cleaned up the midfield," Counts said. "Nobody likes [being face guarded], no matter what kind of player you are. But I felt that she made the decision that 'If I can't produce what I normally do right away, then I'm going to do everything else.' She made herself as instrumental as she possibly could."

As the No. 1 Concorde District seed, the Cougars will host Stone Bridge in the first round of the Northern Region Tournament at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Last season, the Cougars finished second in the Northern Region behind Madison High. Both teams against faced each other in the Virginia High School League title game, with the Warhawks again besting the Cougars.

"We've got some great, great teams ahead of us and some of them we see early," Counts said.


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