Girls' Playoff Lacrosse: Robinson 10, Chantilly 9

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

** Click the links to the left to access hundreds of photos and video highlights from the championship game!

** Look below the story to find the full list of 2009 All-Northern Region first team honorees.

Tears streamed down the face of Robinson junior goalie Kelsey Zinck after the Rams’ dramatic, 10-9 come-from-behind victory over Chantilly in Wednesday’s Northern Region championship game.

Her teammates were awash in smiles and laughter as they shared hugs and high-fives. But Zinck, standing in the middle of it all, simply knelt down and sobbed.

“I’ve been sick throughout the playoffs, and I knew I just had to keep pushing through it for my team,” Zinck explained. “And when we got down by three I knew we had to fight ever harder.

“So, when it was finally over, there was just this overwhelming feeling that came over me. It was a huge relief. This just means so much to our team.”

Robinson, led by junior attacker Rachel Moody and senior midfielder Victoria Barron, jumped to a 3-0 lead in the game’s first seven minutes.

But the Chargers were the first to rally, knotting the score at 5 with 4 minutes, 33 seconds left in the first half on one of three goals from junior midfielder Liz Dunwoody. She and senior midfielder Katie Stillwell (team-high five goals) then took over after the break, combining to score the Chargers’ first four goals of the half — with one sprinkled in by the Rams — to give the Chargers a three-goal lead of their own at 9-6 with 8:55 remaining.

Then it was Robinson’s turn.

“I told them, ‘You guys have two choices right now,'” Rams’ Coach Alison Neun said of her time out speech. “‘You can either stand back and give them the rest of this game, or you can make a comeback.’

“And I think they finally started to relax and loosen up and just say, ‘It’s now or never.’ And that was when they really made the change.

“And they finally just went out and finished it.”

Rams’ senior midfielder Samantha Barber got it started with a goal at the 8:35 mark, and then Barron deposited a pair of goals with 5:47 and 4:07 showing on the clock to tie the game at 9.

“I think we came out with a little bit of fear,” said Moody, who along with Barron led the Rams with three goals a piece. “And we were able to settle it, but it took a while. Coach kept telling us that we had to believe in ourselves and that she knew we had it in us … and she was right. We fought our hardest and we got back in it.”

With the score knotted and less than two minutes left in regulation, Robinson freshman attacker Katie McHugh came in from the left side and circled in front of the crease, learned forward past the Chantilly defender and fired a shot to the bottom left corner of the net for what proved the game-winner.

“I was so happy for her because sometimes she doubts herself being a freshman, and I know it’s hard because I was a freshman on varsity, too,” Moody said. “You don’t really know where your place is. But she’s been growing and learning and I just told her throughout the game, ‘You know you can do this!’ They were face-guarding me with their best defender, so she took it. It was thrilling.”

Barron won the next face-off to give Robinson control of the ball, and they were able to stall until just a final few seconds remaining. When the final buzzer sounder, the Rams promptly sprinter to Zinck for a celebratory pile-up.

“This feels amazing,” Neun. “It’s the first time in my coaching career that I’ve been moved to no words. When we came in at the end of the game I had nothing left to say.

“I was just so impressed with them.”

Email: awatts@digitalsports.com

Chantilly 5 4 — 9
Robinson 5 5 — 10

Goals: Chantilly 9 (Katie Stillwell 5, Liz Dunwoody 3, Brittany Griel); Robinson 10 (Victoria Barron 3, Rachel Moody 3, Samantha Barber, Megan Dunleavy, Abigail Eastman, Katie McHugh).

2009 All-Northern Region First Team Honorees

Attack Player of the Year: Maggie Kovacs, Langley
Midfield Player of the Year: Megan Dunleavy, Robinson
Defense Player of the Year: Sam Barber, Robinson
Goalkeeper of the Year: Hanna Longwell, McLean
Coach of the Year: Jim Dwyer, Westfield

Attack
Lauren Giusti, Stone Bridge
Maggie Kovacs, Langley
Rachel Moody, Robinson
Rachel Obregon, W.T. Woodson
Meredith Rutherford, Annandale.

Midfield
Hope Barrazotto, Yorktown
Maggie Bermingham, Annandale
Megan Dunleavy, Robinson
Becca Geist, W.T. Woodson
Brittany Griel, Chantilly
Amanda O’Sullivan, Westfield
Sarah Moody, Robinson
Katie Stillwell, Chantilly