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STATESMEN SCOREBOARD DISTRICT PLAYOFFS    VARSITY, WED 5/11 MCLEAN 11   MARSHALL  6

McLean High School, 5/11/05 --
STATESMEN PLAY STRONG IN PLAYOFFS, BUT FALL TO MCLEAN

#10 attack Casey Williams

It was quite a year for lacrosse at George C. Marshall. A tough year - no question - in terms of raw wins and losses. But this group of players has come so far from the opening moments of pre-season practice. Throughout the season, we played solid, competitive LAX in what turned out to be the strongest district in the entire Northern Region.

How strong was the Liberty District this year? Perhaps this tells a bit of the story: McLean finished third in the Liberty District. Tellingly, the Highlanders were seeded third in the Regional playoffs.

Even though the final game of the season was a home loss to McLean, our Marshall Statesmen came to Highlanders stadium for the opening round of the District playoffs with confidence and a renewed sense of determination that we were going to turn around that defeat and pull out a Win against McLean. There is no backing down on this Statesmen squad. We've come too far and accomplished too much.

Chris Brimsek had an absolutely terrific night in goal (check out the photos below!), and View From The Stands wishes Chris the very best of luck as he moves on to play the Fastest Sport On Two Feet at the collegiate level. Chris will be playing on the nationally-ranked squad over at Washington & Lee, alongside several other Marshall alumni). We know he'll do great there as well.

Unfortunately, McLean's high-powered offense had a better night of it tonight than the Statesmen did. Each team had scoring chances, but the Highlanders were able to find the back of the net just that many more times. Final score: McLean 11, Marshall 6.

Congratulations are well deserved, however, to a strong Marshall squad that made the playoffs in the Region's toughest District ... to the Seniors who provided leadership and determination throughout the season ... to the Underclassmen who gained invaluable experience and played their guts out against the Districts older and more-seasoned squads ... to the Coaches who made this all possible ... and of course to the entire Marshall LAX community - including players, coaches, parents, family and fans - who give so much, and who get back tenfold in return. Congratulations to you all. And thanks for all your hard work and dedication throughout the year.

Marshall Pride!

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VARSITY GAME: MCLEAN 11 - MARSHALL 6

The Statesmen take the field for the opening round ...

... of the Liberty District Playoffs

Pregame lineup ...

... and the faces of Marshall Pride - Go Statesmen !
And a special thanks to Mrs. Newcomb for all the great action photos and close-up pix that we've been able to post this year on marshalllacrosse.org !

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BAM ! Right from the start, this game gets intense - No backing down !

Hard checking? Look right in the center of the picture - Jake Oster gets his entire stick ripped loose !

Hard checking? Griffin Cummins PLANTS the McLean attacker on the ground !

A hard-checking game puts balls on the ground - gotta pick these up !

Welcome to playoff lacrosse - NOBODY'S lettin' up in this game

BALL ! Everybody reaches for it

BALL ! Freshman Ryan Jarriel races to scoop one up

BALL ! Jake Oster picks it clean and starts another offensive set with #10 Casey Williams

#21 Freshman Aaron Hemeon runs his route despite the close-check defender

#2 The Energizer, Nikko Howard, is everywhere tonight - diving for those loose balls - giving it up on every play !

Coach Williams and Coach Sbarra go over assignments and adjustments during the halftime break

#8 Michael Born

Chris Brimsek shows off some mad hops in front of Mark Findaro (Click on the image for a full-size photo)

WOW ! Chris Brimsek goes for the acrobatic save!

#24 Kevin Wiencek covering with some strong stick work

Aaron Hemeon keeps contact with the attacker

Jake Oster with a sharp pass to get out of trouble

Coach Sbarra exclaims and explains !

Listen up ! Ryan Jarriel gets instructions from the sideline

#18 Philip Tuttle and #26 Mark Findaro get together with goalie Chris Brimsek

#28 Big Griffin Cummins puts a stick on the Highlanders attacker

Pat Findaro works around the McLean pick ...

... while #25 Nick Horner and #21 Aaron Hemeon make sure the passing lanes are covered

Back on the attack, #11 Kyle Montanio sets up for a feed

Here it comes from the left - watch the ball all the way to the webbing

Phil Tuttle wields the long stick

Fastest Sport on Two Feet - Junior Co-Captain Pat Findaro is just a blur

Coach Sbarra and Casey Williams talk offensive strategy

Jake Oster cuts so hard, it's hard for his jersey to keep up :-)

The pre-season team photo seems so long ago now - the 2005 Marshall Statesmen LAX squad exits with a season of terrific successes, great experiences, and a lifetime of memories - Marshall Pride !