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STATESMEN SCOREBOARD    VARSITY, MON 3/12 MARSHALL 10   DOMINION  5      JV, MON 3/12 MARSHALL  9   DOMINION  1

Dominion High School, 3/12/07 --
STATESMEN WIN OPENERS OVER DOMINION

Senior Co-Captain Kevin Hia steps up with some remarkable acrobatics to help shut down Dominion's would-be comeback!

Our Statesmen lacrosse program started the 2007 season on a high note, winning both the JV and Varsity season openers in a pair of non-conference contests at Dominion High School, in Sterling. View From The Stands points out that these were also the first wins for first-year head coach Adam Vasquez and his team of enthusiastic and talented assistant coaches.

Our JV squad took the first game of the night by opening up a huge lead over the Titans, and then building on it. Final score - Marshall 9, Dominion 1. This is a great start for the JV, which added 6 Freshmen and 1 Sophomore to the 17 players who returned from last year.

The Varsity battled through a very close contest in which both teams had their share of scoring streaks. Marshall jumped out to a 6-1 lead right from the very start. But then the Titans started their comeback. Slowly but steadily, the Dulles District squad started putting points on the board, while our Statesmen just couldn't get anything past the pipes at all. Dominion scored the next four goals of the game, and closed to within 1 in the middle of the fourth quarter. (Yikes is right!) But then the Statesmen Defense really picked up the pace, slamming the door shut and creating opportunities for our offense. Marshall scored the last four goals of the game, which made the final score 10-5, Statesmen.

View From The Stands says it was a bit of a drive to a school where we've never played before (not that far--it was just out Route 7 and before you get to 28), but a pair of hard-earned wins sure made the ride home a lot easier :-) And what a terrific group of coaches we've got out there. (If you haven't had a chance to meet them yet, check out their bios on the coaches page.) Way to go Statesmen!

Next up: We travel to Falls Church on Thursday. Be there Marshall fans!

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VARSITY GAME: MARSHALL 10 - DOMINION 5
These are pictures from the Varsity game. Pictures from the JV game are coming soon!

First game of the year and our Statesmen are PUMPED! Senior Co-Captains Ben Yazman (#1) and Sam Mencarini (#3) lead our Statesmen onto the field

Pre-game warmups help calm the pre-game jitters. EVERYONE just wants to get on the field and GET THIS THING STARTED. View From The Stands says it's fun to get to the games early so you can see BOTH teams goin' through their drills and warmups. (I love this game!)

It's about time :-) First game of the year and your Statesmen starting lineup takes the field! Let's see if you can spot 'em all: #6 Kevin Hia, #11 Eliot Gehley, #30 Taylor Delean, #1 Ben Yazman, #20 Jonathan Chambers, #19 Ben Coyle, #24 Michael Born, #17 Sam Newland, #4 Buddy Stolze and #3 Sam Mencarini.

Coach Vasquez is just as determined as the rest of our Statesmen!

Oh, and did I mention yet that it's the first game of the year? :-)

And we're on! Senior Ben Coyle (#19) takes the face-off

The game is physical right from the start, as Taylor Delean (#30) battles for possession on the sideline!

The Titans offense gets a couple good chances, but Ben Yazman (#1) is always on the ballcarrier

Quick to the ball, Ben gets great position!

LOOK!  Down at Kevin's feet.  Our marshalllacrosse ShotCam shows you eactly where the Titan's shot tried to sneak in for the score. (Not to worry, Kevin got the save, while Taylor Delean races in to help!)

Did someone say physical?  (I love this game :-) Michael Born (#24) earns a pick the hard way!

Sam Mencarini catches the ball in GREAT position for a shot ... but the Titan defender has a bead on Our Man Sam!

Now THAT'S what I call a boom-boom play.  Sam gets off his shot, but gets CLOBBERED a split second later. Check out where the goalie is looking ... OK, the shot sailed wide, but giving it up for a great chance like that is how these games are won!

Back and forth we go, and NOBODY's really clicking yet.  We're down on our end of the field again ... the shot bounces UP, but we're looking DOWN ... everybody that is except #11 Eliot Gehley, but Eliot's on the other side of the scrum!

Coach Vasquez calls a time out.  We have GOT to pull things together--both on defense and offense. Right now we're just not getting it done and the scoreboard shows the scoreless result (on BOTH sides of the field).

WoW!  HERE'S the type of airborne energy we were lookin' for! Michael Born and Matt Stonehill gang up on the Titans goalie, with Michael doing a little SKYWALKING! :-)

Chris Newcomb (#27) dives in with his own version of reckless abandon!

WOW AGAIN!  The Statesmen are FLYING! The wannabe Dominion attacker tries to get off a shot, only to be met by a flying Kevin Hia (#6), Ben Yazman sailing in the from left, Philip Beard (#14) hits him amidships, while Jonathan Chambers (#20) has his stick up and going for the rebound  (Whew!)  Don't bring that shot in HERE :-)

Tough defense almost always gives us opportunities on offense. Sam Mencarini (#3) gets another great chance, but again stays out--hitting a leg and bouncing wide. Ben Coyle (#19) digs for the loose ball ... we've gotta keep the pressure on!

He shoots he scores! First goal of the season goes to Senior attackman John Zettler (#7)!

Are we pumped up or WHAT!! (John jumps out of the picture frame :-)

Keep the pressure on!

I *love* this sequence!  Soph. middie Sam Newland cuts a corner SHARP to the right then turns on the afterburners!

Sam leaves #16 like he was standin' still!  Which opens up a HUGE shooting lane.  Sam makes certain with a blistering shot and the Statesmen side of the scoreboard is lighting up!

Again, the defense jump-starts the offense! Jonathan Chambers gets the pick and ...

... STREAKS up the sideline!

BAM!  (It's like Emeril Legasse's keeping score! :-) Sam Newland fires off another shot and our Statesmen have a terrific lead going into halftime.

Coach says we're doin' OK ... we're certainly puttin' points on the board ... but we can't relax and there's a TON of stuff we could be doin' better out here.

No relaxin NOW!  We're diggin' and DIVIN'!

We've got a 6-1 lead on the scoreboard, but the Titan's aren't giving up ... in fact, they're lookin' to make a COMEBACK!

#14 Philip Beard tries to make a run for it!

Oh oh.  THAT'S gonna get called for time in the box :-)

And here come the Titans! We've got people in front of the shot, but Dominion makes it 6-2.

Ouch!  Kevin's got good position, but the bouncing shot from a sharp angle finds the net.

Oh man! ANOTHER shot goes in and the Titans have cut the lead to just one goal! It's 6-5 good guys in the middle of the fourth quarter and we have GOT to get it together.

Coach V is actually a bit more specific :-)

DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE.  We don't need no stinking momentum! (Either that or we're making our OWN momentum. :-))

Eliot Gehley stops the would-be crease attacker and seals him off COLD be hindthe pipes.

The defense is coming up huge, and at JUST the right time. What a sweet time to see Ben Yazman break clear!

And Michael Born's lightning reversal has the Titans looking back and swinging for air!

Fourth quarter and here we are! Michael Born centers up front.

Matt Stonehill gets the quick pick ...

And boom we're on the scoreboard again! Sam Newland hits a big one.

Jason Cheng (#22) presses the attack

Michael Born leans back and lets FLY!  We score, and score ...

... and score again!  FOUR goals in the closing minutes of the game to win pulling away! Final score - Marshall 10, Dominion 5.

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Your moment of Statesmen Zen tonight illustrates the importance of communing with nature. In this case, nature is the LONG GRASS where we go looking for lost balls! (Either the first game of the year caught the guy with the lawn mower by surprise, or maybe this is the rough at the nearby golf course. :-)