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West Springfield senior attack Bonnie Lalich narrowly misses on this shot that would have forced overtime as time expires at Annandale on Monday.

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By Angela Watts
Assistant GM, Washington D.C. Metro Area

** Click the links to access a full photo gallery and dozens of video highlights -- including all 15 goals scored -- in Monday's game!

West Springfield Coach Brian Puhlick couldn't help but pause for a moment and simply shake his head in appreciation of Monday night's unforgettable game at Annandale.

And that was even with his team finishing on the losing end of a hotly-contested 8-7 game.

"That was one of our epic battle that's going to go down in the books," Puhlick said. "It was just a great game all the way around."

A well-played and defense-oriented first half left the host Atoms leading by a slim 4-2 margin at the break. But Annandale (7-2 overall) got its offense moving in a hurry in the second half, netting two goals in the first two minutes, 15 seconds of play -- one each by junior attack Kelly O'Brien and senior attack Linda Rayasse -- to push its lead to 6-2.

Rayasse added a third, unanswered goal with 20:01 remaining in the game to give the Atoms what certainly appeared to be a comfortable, five-goal margin. And that score held true for more than five minutes of game time.

But then, in an instant, things began to unravel for the Atoms.

West Springfield (4-1) got things started with a goal from senior attach Bonnie Lalich with 14:35 to play. At the 13:20 mark it was sophomore midfielder Rachel Lawrie who scored. With 12:07 on the clock junior Meghan Frongelo joined in the scoring barrage, closing the gap to 7-5.

And the Spartans' pressure didn't stop there.

Junior attack Chelsea Capets added another goal with 7:53 remaining that narrowed the gap to 7-6 and prompted Annandale Coach Cindy Hook to call time out and return sophomore goalkeeper Emma Barker, who had started the game, back in the net.

"Lacrosse is a game of streaks, and it was like, 'Uh oh ... the momentum has shifted again,'" Hook said. "The question was whether or not we were going to be able to weather the storm."

Annandale finally stopped West Springfield's streak when junior attack Maggie Craig took a pass from Rayasse and fired it past the Spartans goalkeeper. But that 8-6 lead did not stand for long. West Springfield answered again, this time with another goal by Capets to again close within a single goal with 2:14 to play.

"The girls didn't quit," Puhlick said. "And I think if we had matched our intensity and had taken care of the ball in the first half like we did the second that it could have been a different outcome. But we definitely had our opportunities."

The Spartans' last chance came when they took possession of the ball near the Atoms' net with less than :10 seconds to play. Senior midfielder Rachel Tomlinson took the re-start and made a quick pass to Lalich, who was working at the top of the crease.

Lalich took a couple steps and fired over the outstretched sticks of two Annandale defenders. The ball hit in front of the goal and the final horn sounded just before it skipped past Barker and appeared to bounce off the right post.

"I couldn't see is real well, I just saw [the referee] wave it off," Puhlick said. "But we can't just wait until there are :03 seconds left to score the winning goal. We had opportunities galore that we just didn't capitalize on."

The very near miss left one Annandale fan repeatedly shouting "holy mackerel" as the Atoms -- hesitantly at first -- celebrated.

"It was extremely exiting," Hook said, grinning. "And it ended just in time.

"But you know, you learn a lot about your team in a game like this. You learn who plays best under the most pressure. And you learn who totally just like refuses to lose. And thankfully, we've got quite a few girls out here who just refuse to lose."

Email: awatts@digitalsports.com

Annandale               4  4 -- 8
West Springfield     2  5 -- 7    

Goals: Annandale 8 (O'Brien 3, Rayasse 2, M. Bermingham, Craig, Rutherford); West Springfield 7 (Capets 2, Lawrie 2, Frongelo, Lalich, Tomlinson).