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| Westfield senior Woody Angle, working with a sense of urgency in the final seconds of the first half, feeds junior Austin Fallon for a goal with just :05.7 seconds remaining. Angle totaled four assists in the victory. | |||||
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By Angela Watts
Assistant GM, Washington D.C. Metro Area
** Click the links above to access a complete photo gallery and dozens of video highlights from Tuesday's game!
With Westfield holding a four-goal lead with about four minutes left in Tuesday night's game against rival Oakton, the reserve players on the Bulldogs' sideline started spontaneously jumping up-and-down.
The movement could have been done in an effort to warm from the night's unusually frigid temperatures.
It could also have been nerves: Westfield had already blown three leads earlier this season, including a substantial, five-goal lead in its season-opening loss to Madison.
But neither of those option were the reality.
The Bulldogs, instead, were pulsating with sheer excitement.
And when the final horn sounded to secure their 9-6 victory over last year's Virginia AAA state runner-up, Westfield's players celebrated with an enthusiasm not always seen during regular-season games.
"I think this is the kind of win that can really spark a team," first-year Bulldog Coach Brian Dilley said. "I mean, we know that this is just a regular-season game and that the regular-season is a grind. So in some respects the victory is just a victory. ... But I also know that this can give us great confidence moving forward."
It was Oakton (3-1 overall, 2-1 Concorde District) that struck first, jumping to a 3-0 lead on the strength of an early goal by junior Nick Ward and a pair of back-to-back goals by seniors Barrett Johnson and Wesley Roberts that came a mere five seconds apart.
But the Bulldogs (2-3, 2-1) answered with three goals in the final 3 minutes, 20 seconds of the first quarter to knot the score at 3 and then added two more unanswered goals to take a 5-3 lead with 11:18 left in the third quarter.
Westfield junior Eric Alter netted two of his game-high three goals during that stretch, while fellow juniors Johnny Esposito, Austin Fallon, Forrest Fisher also got in on the action.
"Eric is a very key part of our team," Dilley said. "He's our No. 1 face-off guy and he is definitely one of our main contributors. I look to him every night to have a big game for us."
And whenever the Cougars threatened -- as they did on a second goal by Johnson and another by junior Andrew Leonard in the third period -- the Bulldogs promptly responded. Johnson scored with 9:12 showing on the clock and Fallon's second goal followed :49 seconds later; Leonard got on the board with 1:05 left in the period and Alter's third and final goal followed :56 seconds later.
Westfield then netted two more insurance goals -- one by sophomore Ryan O'Sullivan and another by junior defender Connor McCeney -- to seal the victory.
Bulldog senior Woody Angle assisted on four of his team's nine goals.
"The credit goes to our practices," Dilley said. "Our practices have gotten better. So the problem with the leads that we have blown seem to have kind of taken care of itself. Practice is our biggest focus and we're practicing better every day ... and today was the end result.
"It's a 37-man roster and they call come out ready and prepared every day. I can't ask for much more than that."
Email: awatts@digitalsports.com
Oakton 3 0 2 1 -- 6
Westfield 3 1 3 2 -- 9
Goals
1st Quarter
OK Taylor Quinn, 10:11; OK Barrett Johnson, 6:32; OK Wesley Roberts, 6:27; WF Forrest Fisher, 3:20; WF Johnny Esposito, 2:52; WF Eric Alter, 1:58.
2nd Quarter
WF Austin Fallon, :05.
3rd Quarter
WF Eric Alter, 11:18; OK Barrett Johnson, 9:12; WF Austin Fallon, 8:23; OK Andrew Leonard, 1:05; WF Eric Alter, :09.
4th Quarter
WF Ryan O'Sullivan, 11:21; WF Conner McCeney, 9:22; OK -- Jason Chancler, 4:15.
