Boys Lacrosse: Cougars' Season Ends with Semifinal Loss

After a postseason run that exceeded outside expectations because of a lackluster 2-3 regular season district record, Coach Grif Barhight had nothing but positive things to say about his boys lacrosse team following their season-ending Northern Region semifinal loss to Langley on Thursday night.

"They battled hard all season long," Barhight said after the 16-12 loss. "I can't say enough good things about how the guys played to get us this far. I'm so impressed with the ways they've pushed themselves, and not just on the field. They're really good guys off the field, too."

Their determination to defy predictions resulted in a Concorde District Championship after entering the tournament a No. 4 seed. Before their 9-8 victory over Westfield for the title, the Cougars upset No. 1 Chantilly Chargers — the Cougars' first win over the Chargers since 2007.

On Thursday, the Cougars started strong with their first goal from Cory Harris to tie the game at 1, then pull ahead on a pass from Logan Ambrose to Sean Schweiker to grab the lead. Though the Saxons evened the score again, the Cougars ended the first quarter with a 3-2 after a goal from Stephen Lambrides.

The Cougars stretched their lead to 6-2 to start the second quarter, on two goals from Schweiker and one from Jack Harris on a pass for Cory Harris. The Cougars then answered the Saxons' goal just over three minutes left in the half with a shot from Evan Lalande off a pickup on the faceoff. But in the last 50 seconds of the quarter, the Saxons scored two goals to lessen the Cougars' advantage to 7-5.

The Saxons then kept their momentum going into the second half, as they held the Cougars scoreless in the third quarter while piling on five goals for themselves.

The Cougars' scoring drought continued into the fourth quarter, as the Saxons tallied two more goals before the Cougars could answer with an unassisted shot from Lalande to put the score at 12-8 with 7:16 on the clock. Though the Cougars would add four more points to their final score — on shots from Schweiker, Lalande, Jack Harris and Michael Durst — the Saxons added four of their own to keep the win out of the Cougars' reach.

The 16-12 loss may have ended the Cougars' 2012 season, but Barhight already has high hopes for next season and for his graduating seniors who all show promise regardless of whether they're pursuing lacrosse at the collegiate level.

"We have so many kids playing lacrosse in college, and some who are our best players who chose not to, and I'm just excited to see how they all develop over the next few years," Barhight said. 

Each senior class leaves its legacy, good or bad, with the underclassmen, and Barhight praised the positive leadership his 17 seniors have shown.

"I told them in the locker room afterward, the younger guys should thank the seniors for showing them how to do it the right way," Barhight said. "Obviously we came up short tonight in terms of the loss, but they had a great run to earn the district championship, and that's certainly nothing to be ashamed of. I can't say enough how both on and off the field, these seniors led the team the right way."

The Cougars have until next spring to regroup and adjust, a task Barhight is confident a strong rising senior class can help guide. 

"We are losing a core of the team with our seniors, but we have an excellent group of kids who are only going to get better and better," Barhight said. "I'm excited to see what's to come."