By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Manager, Washington D.C.
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Coaches at any level often have days – or weeks – to plan around the absence of their contributors, especially their leading scorers.
Lake Braddock Coach Diane Miller was not so fortunate.
After getting struck in the head during Lake Braddock’s home win over W.T. Woodson on Monday, Bruin senior Ann Marie Gambescia felt sore – but healthy. But after a series of headaches, Gambescia visited the trainer and was diagnosed with a concussion on Thursday afternoon. She was ruled out of the Patriot District opener at T.C. Williams with only a few hours notice.
Even without Gambescia – and senior captain Sarah Morehouse, a more-expected, season-long absence with a torn ACL – the Bruins survived the second-half Titan onslaught for a 1-0 victory.
“It’s a day-by-day thing,” Miller said. “Ann Marie got hit in the head Monday and I didn’t even know until today. Her head was hurting, so went to the trainer and do this concussion test and she failed it.”
Added sophomore Brittany Hopkins: “We’d like to have Ann Marie. She’s a great player and she helps our team a lot. And knowing that she can’t play, I know myself — and the team knows — we have to step it up even more. People need to score goals that usually don’t score goals to fill in spaces.”
And it was Hopkins that filled in space to rattle T.C. Williams’ cage on Thursday.
From a penalty corner with 27 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the game, Bruin senior Katie Klatt fired a low shot at the left pad of Titan goalkeeper Amy Greco. But Hopkins lowered her stick and redirected it past Greco for what proved the game-winning goal.
“My job is to get onto the post,” Hopkins said of her fifth goal of the season. “So I make my normal run to the post. Katie drove it in and I just simply deflected it and it went into the bottom left corner.
“It feels so good once you score a goal. You know you can’t let up, but that burden of not tying or not losing is gone for the moment.”
And it’s a good thing for the Bruins they didn’t let up. The Titans used seven second-half corners to keep the ball on in Lake Braddock’s defensive quarter, especially during a five-minute stretch when the Bruins were down a player due to a yellow card.
But Miller feels the artificial surface at Minnie Howard Elementary — T.C. Williams’ home field — played into Lake Braddock’s passing ability, stick handling and speed.
“Playing on AstroTurf … my kids love it,” said Miller, whose team has allowed just four goals through eight games. “But playing a man down is tough, especially on AstroTurf. I’m proud of having held on, but there always some things we need to work on.
“I’m just happy we won.”
In their top-heavy district, every win is pivotal. Four teams are expected to vie for the Patriot title: Lake Braddock (8-0), South County (9-2), West Springfield (5-1), and T.C. Williams (5-2). Among those teams, the Bruins – who opened the year with wins over Concorde District contenders Oakton, Robinson and Chantilly by a combined score of 10-3 – are the odds-on favorites.
“It’s kind of a good feeling knowing that everyone wants to beat you,” said Hopkins, whose Bruins went 20-2 last year. “It just puts a little extra pressure on you.”
E-mail: pmurphy@digitalsports.com
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