For the Cunningham siblings of Arlington, the 2024 fall college sports seasons couldn’t have been more different.
Senior midfielder Caitlin Cunningham, a Washington-Liberty High School graduate, played every match for the Division I George Washington University women’s soccer team and enjoyed one of her best college seasons.
With early-season victories each, Arlington’s three springtime boys high-school boys soccer teams are off to solid starts.
Through three games, the Washington-Liberty Generals and Yorktown Patriotst had 2-1 records while the Wakefield Warriors were 1-1-1.
The Arlington Bulldogs, a recreational boys youth soccer team, finished fifth in its age division in a national 4-H Ignite tournament competition in March.
The Bulldogs participated in the age 14 and 15 division and played against teams with older players.
The Arlington Soccer Association will host its 55th anniversary gala on Saturday, April 5 at 7 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Little Falls Road.
One purpose for the event, for adults only, will be a fund-raiser, with all the proceeds benefiting the Kenmore Middle School field-turf conversion project.
The Arlington Bulldogs, a recreational boys soccer team, has been nominated and chosen to participate in the national 4-H Ignite competition in March.
The Arlington Soccer Association team’s roster consists of players from mostly Arlington high schools at the under-15 and under-16 age levels.
Mike Woods is coming home, where there is so much longstanding family history.
The 1986 graduate of Washington-Liberty High School (then named Washington-Lee) recently was named the new head girls varsity soccer coach for the upcoming spring season.
The standout fall season enjoyed by multiple Bishop O’Connell High School sports teams was highlighted when four different head coaches for the private-school Knights athletic program received Coach of the Year accolades.
Earning Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors were Megan Sullivan for girls field hockey, Chris Jennings for boys soccer and Alerto Starace for girls soccer. Mehdi El Alaoui was the Division I state Coach of the Year for girls volleyball.
The Bishop O’Connell Knights enjoyed another strong campaign, one of the best yet, in boys soccer.
The Knights finished 17-5, the most wins in a season since Chris Jennings took over as head coach 13 years ago. The squad had eight shutouts and reached the tournament semifinals of both the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and Division I state competitions.
With the Player of the Year and multiple other honorees, the Bishop O’Connell Knights were well-represented on this fall’s all-conference girls high-school soccer teams.
Sophomore forward Audrey McKeen, who scored a single-season team record 37 goals this fall, was chosen as the Player of the Year in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. She helped lead O’Connell to a 16-2-3 record, a Northern Virginia Independent Schools State Invitational championship (third in four seasons) and a second in the WCAC tournament.
After a disappointing runner-up finish in conference-tournament action, the Bishop O’Connell Knights bounced back.
The girls high-school team and second seed ended its season by winning the four-team Northern Virginia Independent Schools State Invitational with a 2-0 record.
It was a busy afternoon, with Bishop O’Connell High School girls teams playing in three different state-tournament contests at home last Tuesday (Nov. 5).
In the end, O’Connell teams won all three — soccer, field hockey and volleyball — to advance in the Division I private-school state competitions.
Being the regular season, there wasn’t as much at stake except bragging rights.
Host Bishop O’Connell Knights earned them with the squad’s 3-0 victory over the Potomac School Panthers in girls high-school soccer action the afternoon of Oct. 4 in Arlington.
