On the same cool and rainy night at different sites, the Yorktown Patriots defended their girls and boys Liberty District lacrosse tournament championships with victories over the Langley Saxons.
The undefeated and top seed Yorktown girls (16-0) built a 7-1 lead and won 16-8 on their home field over the second-seeded Saxons. The No. 2-seed boys (10-7) played at top-seed Langley and rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to win 11-10 in sudden-death overtime.
The Yorktown boys team, which started the season 1-6 and had won 9 of 10 matches entering the region tournament, tied the score at 10-10 with 40 seconds left in regulation on a goal by Mikey Cowan off an assist from Nate Randles. A turnover caused by the Yorktown defense seconds earlier set up the tying goal.
In overtime, Cowan scored the game-winner on a one-bounce shot off a pass from Eli Pilch.
On both goals, Cowan was positioned near the crease to the goalie’s right when he took the passes and quickly shot and scored.
Langley trailed 4-0 in the first quarter, rallied for five straight goals to go ahead 5-4, and was ahead 8-5 at halftime.
“We couldn’t clear cleanly and keep the ball out of our end early in the game,” Yorktown coach Greg Beer told ARLnow. “We made adjustments, got some possessions and started scoring goals.”
Randles had two goals and five assists in the win, giving him more than 50 assists this season.
“He commands so much attention from the defense and he is such a great passer. He creates so many scoring opportunities for others,” Beer said.
Cowan had three goals in the win, Logan Kaetzel had two and Pilch, Alex Randisi and Hudson Fang one each.
The district title was Yorktown’s fifth in the row, three coming against Langley at Langley.
Yorktown lost to Langley decisively during the regular season, but top defender Evan Beeman did not play in that game for the Patriots.
Beer said the Yorktown defense was much improved in the district final against Langley. He said the early-season tough schedule also was a benefit.
“It’s a credit to our kids. They understood what we were doing playing that tough schedule,” Beer said. “We got a lot out of that.”
The Yorktown boys were 3-0 in the tournament, routing the Marshall Statesmen, 18-4, in the first round then winning by one goal, 12-11, over the third seed McLean Highlanders in the semifinals.
The defending region and state champion Yorktown girls were 2-0 in the district tournament. After a first-round bye, Yorktown routed fourth-seed McLean, 20-5, in the semifinals.
In the final, Yorktown built a 7-1 lead, was ahead 11-5 at halftime and in control from there.
Mairin Almy led Yorktown in scoring with five goals and three assists. Helene Lydon had three goals, Olivia Burgeson added two goals and one assist, Lila Almy scored two goals, and Coco Rigoli and Mila Perez scored one each.
Victoria Carcillo made 11 saves in goal, and Ally Graves had two ground balls.
The district-tourney title was Yorktown’s second straight and third in four seasons.
NOTE: For Yorktown girls coach Jenny Tran, the victory in the district-tournament championship match was her 99th career win for the Patriots. She had 142 career wins total entering the region tournament, including 43 when she coached at Battlefield High School.
