The U11 girls began the playoffs last Thursday as the fourth seed and beat fifth seed Fort Hunt 21-3 to advance at Moore Cadillac Stadium. Falls Church was paired with Braddock Road in the next game, which was rained out, and under the rules, higher-seeded Braddock Road advanced.
In the Fort Hunt game, excellent defense led to many scoring opportunities by the offense. Strong midfield defense by Annie Wilson and Claire Saunders forced the Fort Hunt midfielders to pass, and defenders Rae Mondragon, Rachel Barrett and Lauren Wilson usually stopped the play, recovered possession of the ball and cleared it to the offense. Good passing and movement by all offensive players resulted in many successful shots on goal. Many players scored, including Madie Hof, Sarah Lubnow, Tia Dahl, Carolyn Kerrigan, Samie Boryan, Claire Tourkin and Claire Saunders. The girls completed a successful season, finishing with a 6-3 record.
The Boys U13 team secured the fifth playoff seed after defeating Alexandria 3-1 at Larry Graves field. The win gives the team a winning record of 6-4. Alexandria scored the first goal before Falls Church woke up from their morning slumber and scored three quick goals in the fourth quarter to secure the win. Preston Custer broke the scoring slump, followed by goals from Jonathen Sarker — his first of the season — and Aidan Thayer.
Strong defensive play, led by goalie Keenan Glahn, kept Alexandria at bay until the offense took over. With the fifth seed, the U13s play Springfield in the first round of the playoffs on Thursday (tonight) in Springfield. The playoffs conclude this weekend with quarterfinal and semifinal games on Saturday at Wakefield High School and the final game on Sunday at James Madison High School.
The Boys U11 team finished the regular season with a record of 9-1 to secure the No. 2 playoff seed by defeating Annandale 9-4 Saturday morning at Larry Graves field.
Brandon Ward led all scores with three goals, followed by Jackson Cogar with two, and one each from Eriksen Johansen, Brendon Smith, Connar Mulcahy and Sean Fitzgerald.
The team displayed good ball movement as five of the goals were the result of assists; three from Johansen and one each from Cogar and Myles Cobb. Fitzgerald led the team with nine ground balls, followed by Cobb and Hayden Sausville with three each. The U11s earned a bye for the first playoff round and will play a quarter-final game against the winner of the Stafford/Braddock Road game Saturday morning at Carl Sandburg Middle School in Alexandria. The semifinals are Saturday afternoon with the finals Sunday morning at Minnie Howard Field in Alexandria.
