Girls' Playoff Lacrosse: Annandale 11, West Springfield 10

By Greg Young
Annandale High School Student, DigitalSports Intern

Annandale's  come-from-behind, 11-10 victory over West Springfield on Thursday night at Lee High was a true family effort.

While freshmen Emma Barker was busy helping the Atoms on the field by making one remarkable save after another in goal in the second half, her father, Jim Barker, and brother, Alex Barker, were spurring on the crowd with the use of a shiny tuba and a trumpet. Holding an old dry-erase board with the lyrics to the fight song for the rest of the Atoms' fans to sing, they duo played after every goal and during breaks, helping motivating the crowd and the team to its first ever Patriot District tournament championship.

"I was totally focused on the game," said Emma Barker, who stopped 6-of-7 point-blank shots fired by the Spartans in the second half as the Atoms mounted a rally. "But these were the best fans we've ever had."

Although Annandale won, West Springfield dominated possession throughout, collecting more ground balls and shots than the Atoms. The Spartans led by four goals at one point in the first half and held a three-goal lead at half time.

"I told my team to keep their heads up high," West Springfield Coach Brian Puhlick said. "I'm very proud of them ... and our season isn't over yet."

Midway through the second half, Annandale found its spark. The Atoms scored three straight unanswered goals, capped by junior attack Linda Rayasse's score with 14 minutes left in the game that tied the game at 9. West Springfield senior midfielder Tory Cenerazio responded with 11 minutes remaining to help the Spartans regain the lead, but they would not get another shot past Barker for the rest of the game.

"Barker was a brick wall," Annandale Coach Cindy Hook said. "She was amazing. It's an amazing thing when a player plays in the moment like she did."

Annandale's final game-tying -- and then game-winning -- goals were scored by junior midfielder Annie Weiser. What looked to be Weiser's initial game-winning goal was waived off because of a West Springfield penalty, but she was able to score from the point of the foul with :43 seconds left to seal the victory for Annandale. Weiser totaled four goals in the game.

And although West Springfield dominated time of possession for most of the game, Annandale's man-to-man defense was up to the challenge. Led by sophomore Monica Athey and seniors Tiffanie Le and Caroline Merz, the Atoms applied pressure to the West Springfield attack all game.

"We saw in our last game [against Lake Braddock] that we had the skill and all we had to do was apply that skill," Athey said.

With the win the Atoms earned the Patriot District's top seed in the Northern Region tournament, which assures them of a first-round, home game on Tuesday. Their opponent is still unknown. The Spartans, meanwhile, finish as the league's No. 2 seed and will also start the playoffs with a home game against a yet-to-be-named opponent.

"Playing at home is definitely a great advantage," Hook said. "But anyone you meet in regionals is going to be a good game.

"This team has worked so hard this season to prepare for everything. We've taken everything one game at a time and one possession at a time."