Atoms Dominate to Secure Semfinal Win Over E.C. Glass

Thirteen senior boys traded in tuxedos from Saturday night's prom for red lacrosse jerseys as they and the entire team traveled to E.C. Glass in Lynchburg, Va for the preliminary round of the boys lacrosse Virginia State Tournament. The Atoms dominated the second half of the game and overcame a two goal deficit to secure a trip to the semifinal round on Wednesday with a 13-9 victory.

The Atoms took the field with their trademark intensity with Andy Craig controlling the face-offs as they jumped to an early lead with goals by sophomore Zack Lalande and senior attack Nick Lalande. Peter Hagen (D-Pole) added another goal early on with his trademark venture across the entire field as the Atoms settled in at 3-0. E.C. Glass was not to be deterred and retaliated with equal zeal and they netted three goals to get back in the game. Glass’ goalie Conner Marks got in the zone after those first goals and while the Atoms were relentlessly firing at him, his stick, limbs and posts prevented at least 21 shots from landing in the net.

The remaining first half was a back and forth battle as Nathan Miller added two goals and Hagen secured another. The defense did their best to contain Jim Moore of the Hilltoppers, who kept the game close as they were tied going into halftime.

Early into the third quarter Glass capitalized on the Atoms turnovers with two quick goals by Moore to take the lead. This deficit spurred on the Atoms to once again take control of the game as the Miller brothers, senior middle Nathan and junior attack Ryan, combined to put Annandale in the lead. With additional goals from Stephen Craig and James Terrell, the Atoms maintained possession of the ball for the majority of the fourth quarter to hold on to the win.

“We knew they were a fourth-quarter team, so we had to do a good job of winning face-offs and taking care of the ball. Hopefully we could keep it out of their sticks because they have some great players,” Annandale coach William Maglisceau said. “We just knew we had to do the best to maintain the ball on our end.”

Once again Annandale demonstrated some outstanding team dynamics with Andy Craig securing solid possession on face-offs, six different players scoring goals and Joe Bermingham finishing with 14 saves.

Annandale will take this powerful team into the semifinals on Wednesday against Langley (who they beat in regionals two weeks ago). While they do not underestimate the talent of their opponent, they are hoping to channel this intensity of the successful season to culminate in a state final game on June 11th.

Thansk to Annandale Patch reader Regina Deible for this recap submission!