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Mike Cresham shakes off a couple defenders on his way to a second goal.
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By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

Another slow start, another big win for Wootton’s boys lacrosse team.

Against perhaps the Patriots’ final regular season measuring stick, Wootton once again showed it’s a notch or two above the rest of the county with a 12-3 win over Whitman Thursday on the road.

The Vikings were previously beaten against Montgomery County competition. Wootton has also already beaten the perennial powers – Walter Johnson and Churchill – and last year’s region finalist Bethesda-Chevy Chase.

With Thursday’s victory, Wootton locks up yet another division title. The Patriots have captured the regional crown four years in a row.

“We knew Whitman’s been playing for this game for a long time,” Wootton senior midfielder Mike Cresham said. “We knew we had to get up for this game.”

Cresham scored a pair of goals and assisted on another. Sophomore attackman Chris Doran led the way with five goals and an assist and fellow attacker Jeff Zifrony notched two goals and an assist.

Wootton, who notched big Spring Break wins over Good Counsel of the WCAC and Coronado, the top-ranked team in California, improves to 8-0.

The Patriots didn’t come out sharp on Thursday, however.

After Wootton scored the game’s first goal, Whitman (5-2) responded with back-to-back goals by Michael Harding and Patrick Slawta in less than three minutes to take a 2-1 lead.

Junior goalie Carson Kline also made several big-time saves in the first half to keep the Vikings close.

“We just came out on the wrong foot,” Cresham said. “We needed a little something to get started.”

The spark came from a somewhat unlikely source in senior midfielder Justin Dhyani, who bounced in a shot with 12 seconds left in the first quarter to tie the game at 2.

Wootton scored the game’s next give goals to take control, including four in the second quarter alone and two by Doran. The Patriots cracked down on Whitman’s clear attempts and limited the Vikings’ shots. Wootton’s potent offense did the rest.

“I was getting the right feeds,” Doran said. “They were a lot more physical in the second half which definitely helped us.”