The Skinny on Wednesday's Regional Semifinals: Loudoun Teams Go 10-for-12

(June 3, 2010) - Loudoun teams made a huge STATEment Wednesday night as they won 10 of 12 regional semifinal contests to advance to Frdiay's regional finals and qualify for next week's state tournament.

In all, seven soccer teams from Loudoun will be playing in States including Broad Run boys and girls, Stone Bridge boys and girls, Loudoun Valley and Loudoun County girls and Potomac Falls boys.

An All-Dulles District Region II soccer finals doubleheader will be held at Broad Run on Friday with the Spartan girls hosting County at 6 p.m. followed by the BR boys hosting PFalls at 8 p.m. The Stone Bridge boys and girls will play at Lake Braddock High School in the Northern Region finals with the Bulldog boys facing Liberty District rival McLean at 5:30 and the Bulldog girls facing Robinson at 7:30. Valley girls will travel to Freedom High School in Prince William (not the South Riding school) to face Forest Park at 6 p.m. in the Northwest Region finals.

In softball, both Loudoun Valley and Briar Woods are headed to States with both teams on the road Friday as the Vikings travel to Cedar Run District rival Battlefield at 6 p.m. for the Northwest title and the Falcons go to Charlottesville to face Monticello at 7 p.m. for the Region II crown.

And locally baseball fans will be treated to a Region II title game at Potomac Falls as the Panthers, headed back to States once again after a run to the AA semifinals in 2009, host Brentsville at 6 p.m. in Sterling.

And two teams are already in state play as the Loudoun Valley girls lacrosse takes on Madison Friday at 6 p.m. in a VHSL quarterfinal in Purcellville and the Viking boys are at Western Albemarle on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in quarterfinal action.

The Skinny for Wednesday June 2
Baseball
Region II Semifinals
Potomac Falls 8, Kettle Run 1
The Skinny: The Panthers secured a return to the AA Region II championship game and an automatic bid into the Virginia AA state playoffs with their win over Kettle Run on Wednesday. Ryan Mahoney went the distance for the Panthers surrendering three runs on eight hits and not issuing any walks.

The Cougars got on the board in the first on a single by Justin Reinaldo and a long double to left by Zach Phillips. The Panthers responded in the second, scoring two runs on consecutive doubles by Ryan Miller and Michael Lascomb and an RBI single by Matt Hoover.

Potomac Falls broke the game open in the fourth when they sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs, all with two outs. Miller led off the inning by getting hit with a pitch. After two quick outs, Jackson Rogers delivered an RBI single to right. Hoover followed with his second single and RBI of the night. Tyler Caldwell reached on an error and Ben Sweger walked to load the bases before Jimmy Bowman balked in a run. Thomas Rea reached on an infield error to score Caldwell and Mahoney helped his own cause with an RBI single up the middle.

With a 7-1 lead, Mahoney was cruising through the game before giving up two runs in the sixth on a hit batter, a single by Kyle Reinaldo and a 2-RBI double by Justin Rodriguez. The Panthers got one of those back when Lascomb scored on a sacrifice fly by Rogers.

The Panthers increased their record to 20-3 and will face Brentsville at Panther Park on Friday at 6 p.m. for the AA Region II Championship.

Brentsville 5, Broad Run 2
The Skinny: The Broad Run Spartans Baseball team traveled to Brentsville for a second round Region II playoff game and fell, 5-2. The Spartans end the 2010 season with a final, overall record of 19-5.

Senior Shane Vlasic (UMBC) took the mound for the Spartans. Vlasic allowed seven hits on the night, striking out four batters and walking two. With the loss, Vlasic ends the season with a pitching record of 7-2.

Offensively, the Spartans had numerous scoring chances in the first five innings, but could only get two runs across the plate on the evening. In the fourth inning, trailing 1-0, junior Ryan Johnston singled and later scored from third base on an RBI sacrifice fly by junior Shea Bargiel. In the fifth, sophomore Chris Johnson singled and later scored from third base on a passed ball.

Broad Run's lead was short lived as Brentsville plated four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to make the score 5-2. Neither team scored in the last two innings to make the final score 5-2.

The game was the final contest for five senior Spartans as first baseman Chris Lane and pitcher/third baseman Chase Warren (two year lettermen), outfielder Tyler Small and catcher Johnny Meier (three year lettermen), and pitcher/second baseman Shane Vlasic (four year letterman) ended their careers tonight.

This group of seniors makes up one of the most successful classes ever to play at Broad Run; the last four seasons they have ended their season in either the Region II or AA State tournament.

Softball
Northwest Region Semifinals
Battlefield 7, Mountain View 0
The Skinny:  Miranda Kemp tosses 5-hitter with 13 strikeouts for Bobcats.
Loudoun Valley 4, Osbourn Park 2
The Skinny: The Vikings (17–6) extended their 9-game winning streak by defeating Osbourn Park (22–2) in an exciting 4-2 Northwest Region semifinal on the Yellow Jackets’ home field. The win advances the Lady Vikes to the Northwest Region championship game on Friday against Battlefield High School and awards them a berth to the Virginia State AAA tournament.

Both teams came out aggressive at the plate and scored in the first inning. DH Ashley Cole singled and was the first to score for the Vikings after shortstop Shelby Wassman hit an RBI double to deep left field.

The Yellow Jackets took the lead early in the third and starting pitcher/1st baseman Kelsey Richardson (3 strike outs, 2 hits and 2 walks) was relieved by pitcher Allie Reid (5 strike outs and 4 hits) with no outs and 2 runners on base. Then second baseman Dani Psimas caught a line drive and made a double play at 1st and Reid fielded a grounder for the third out to squelch the Yellow Jackets’ momentum.

The Viking offense heated up in the fourth inning with another double by Wassman, a walk by catcher Karli Johnson, and a sac bunt by Richardson to advance the runners. Third baseman Christy Haney hit the ball hard followed by a defensive throwing error and brought in two more runs as the Vikings jumped ahead 3-2.

In the 6th inning, Reid knocked in pinch runner Courtney Bogan (for Richardson) after Richardson lead off with a walk followed by a sac bunt by Haney and a bunt by left fielder Mackenzie Moler.

Osbourn Park loaded up the bases after a rally in the sixth inning with one out, only to have Reid fan the next two batters. The Vikings travel to Haymarket on Friday to face the Battlefield Bobcats for the fourth time this season and with the region title on the line.

Region II Semifinals
Monticello 2, Park View 1
The Skinny: Park View’s season ended at the Region II Semi-Final in Charlottesville with a tough loss to Monticello, 2-1. The game, unfortunately, was not decided solely on the merits of the players as the umpire crew decided to make a statement and call an illegal pitch with runners on second and third in the second inning, scoring a Monticello player. Locked in a pitcher’s duel, that run held up until the sixth when Sam Thomas doubled and scored on Sammie Gleason’s single. After Robin Heironimus singled, the Patriots had runners on second and third with two outs but were unable to capitalize further. Monticello started their half of the sixth with a double and followed that with a single to score what would be the winning run. The Patriots weren’t quite finished, however. With one out in the seventh, Park View had runners on second and third but once again, the Monticello pitcher (Victoria Scott) was able to get out of the jam by striking out the last two Patriot hitters. Park View finished 17-8 on the season.

Briar Woods 1, Brentsville 0
The Skinny: Junior Jillian Olson doubled home classmate Kasey Ball from first base with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, and sophomore Macy Jones fired a three-hitter with 15 strikeouts as Briar Woods edged Brentsville 1-0 in the Region II semifinals Wednesday night in Ashburn.

The Falcons, who improved to 21-2 with their 12th straight victory, earned a spot in both the region championship and the Virginia High School League Group AA state championship tournament.

Briar Woods, the region’s second seed, will travel to Charlottesville Friday to take on top-seeded Monticello in the region championship at 7 p.m. Monticello held off Park View 2-1 in Wednesday’s other region semifinal game.

The Falcons will then play in a state quarterfinal game on Tuesday, June
8 against either Powhatan or Poquoson. Those two teams square off in the Region I final Friday.

State tournament matchups are predetermined by the VHSL. The Region I champion hosts the Region II runner-up, while the Region II champion hosts the Region I runner-up. (The same format is used for Regions III and IV.)

The Falcons’ first-ever meeting with Brentsville was a nail-biter as expected. Jones opened the game by striking out the first two Tigers, and freshman Lynn Brantley made a spectacular sliding catch in shallow right field to end the top of the first.

Briar Woods went down in order in the home half of the inning before threatening in the second. Senior Kate Fowler beat out an infield single to start the frame, and Ball followed with a shot off the glove of Tiger pitcher Grace Nordan to give Briar Woods runners at first and second.
However, Nordan worked out of the jam with a pair of groundouts and a strike out.

Jones surrendered a leadoff walk to start the third but got another assist from her defense when Fowler pounced on a sacrifice bunt attempt and fired a strike to senior shortstop Holly Dominguez to get the lead runner out at second. That play proved critical, as, after a strikeout, Tiger leadoff hitter Rachel Lee dumped a single into right field. Facing runners at first and second, Jones then got another strikeout to end the frame.

Briar Woods threatened again in the third when junior Alex Fierszt singled to start the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Dominguez. However, Nordan worked out of trouble with two more groundouts to keep the game scoreless.

Brentsville had a golden opportunity in the top of the fourth but came up empty. The Tigers put runners on first and second with none out thanks to a leadoff single and a fielder’s choice that failed to get an out. A passed ball allowed both runners to move up before Jones got the first out of the inning with a strikeout.

Nordan then bunted, and Fowler wisely held the ball to keep the runners at second and third from advancing. Jones then came through in the clutch by striking out the next two batters to end the inning.

With momentum now in their favor, the Falcons went back to work on offense in the bottom of the fourth. Ball hit a one-out single and moved to second on a two-out infield error off the bat of Brantley. However, Nordan rose to the occasion and got a struck out to close the frame.

The Falcon defense continued to shine in the top of the fifth to keep Brentsville off the board. Ball made a great backhanded stop of a hard grounder and threw to first for the initial out and then ranged into shallow right field to catch a pop up for the second out. Fierszt came racing in from center to snare a shallow liner to record the final out of the inning.

The Tigers had another chance to break open a scoreless game in the top of the sixth when Abby Carpenter rolled a single up the middle, but Jones got two more strikeouts to avoid any trouble.

The Falcon sixth started with a ground out, but got a little more interesting when Fowler drew a one-out walk. Ball then sent a low fly ball into shallow right field that had a chance to be caught, but it fell in front of Danielle Zecca, who then fired to secondOlson then stepped to the plate and ripped a double into the gap in left center. The ball rolled all the way to the fence, and Ball raced home from first for what would be the game’s only run.

Jones then closed out the Tigers by striking out the side in the top of the seventh, giving her four straight shutouts this postseason and sending the Falcons to the first-ever regional championship game and state tournament in the program’s five-year history.

Boys Soccer
Region II Semifinals
Broad Run 1, Western Albemarle 0 (OT)
The Skinny: Kevin Kevin Reitzel scored in the first minute of overtime from a Paul Ellington throwin to advance the Spartans to Friday's regional title game against rival Potomac Falls. It will be the fourth meeting this year between the two teams and ninth meeting since 2009 including five postseason matches
Potomac Falls 2, Kettle Run 1
The Skinny: The Panthers trailed 1-0 when Eddy Funes scored with one minute left in the first half to tie it up at halftime. George Echart scored the game winner with 20 minutes in regulation.

Northern Region Semifinals at Robinson
McLean 1, Yorktown 0
The Skinny: Matt Janssen scored the lone goal off a Tim Whitebread corner kick in the third minute.
Stone Bridge 2, Robinson 0
The Skinny: The Stone Bridge boys soccer team won 2-0 over the Robinson Rams in the Northern Region semifinals match on Wednesday night. Junior Ryan Buckley and senior Clay Brothers scored for the Bulldogs with assists coming from senior Cooper Sousa and junior Tommy Dunne. Nick Lowrey picked up the shutout for Stone Bridge giving the team 10 shutouts on the season and Nick's seventh outright shutout overall.

With the win the team moves to 15-3 on the season and will next play for the Northern Region Championship against McLean on Friday, June 4 at 5:30 PM at Lake Braddock HS. This will be the third time that McLean and Stone Bridge have faced each other this season. Stone Bridge is seeking its second Regional title with the first coming in 2008.

The win over Robinson places Stone Bridge into its second State AAA tournament in three years. The first round of the State AAA tournament will begin next Tuesday, June 8 at a site to be determined by the Regional finals through out Virginia.

Girls Soccer
Region II Semifinals
Loudoun County 2, Western Albemarle 0
The Skinny: The Raiders win on the road was outstanding as LC goalie Megan Vahsen had another shutout. The first half goal came from defender Olivia Mackey, who dribbled down the middle of the field beating all of her defenders with her speed and scored from just inside the 18 yard line. The second half Raider goal came from midfielder, Kristin Littell, who scored off of an assist from forward, Taylor Boucher.
Broad Run 3, Charlottesville 0
The Skinny: BR led 1-0 at halftime on a goal by Ellie Zoepfl off an assit from Whitney Church. Rachel Tharp added a goal in the 59th minute from a Church assist and then picked up her own assist, the 65th minute, on a Cassie Smith score. Freshman keeper Haley Casanova, making her second straight start, earned the shutout with five saves. The Region II title game will be played at Broad Run Friday at 6 pm against Loudoun County

Northwest Region Semifinals
Forest Park 2, Riverbend 0
The Skinny: Allison Cresswell scored on a header in the 31st minute and Melissa Fessenden added the insurance in the insurance moments after Riverbend had missed a PK that would have tied the score.
Loudoun Valley 5, Colonial Forge 1
The Skinny: The Vikes had five different players score as they cruised into the regional title game with Ashley Manning, Taylor Payne, Ashley Bonner, Lucy Etro and Katie Beebe all finding the back of the net.

Northern Region Semifinals at Lake Braddock
Stone Bridge 2, Oakton 1
The Skinny: The Stone Bridge girls soccer defeated Oakton 2-1 to advance to the Northern Region finals on Friday and earn a spot in the state tournament next week. Freshman Ashley Herndon scored 24 seconds into the game on a header from a throw in by freshman Murielle Tiernan. Herndon earned her 23rd goal of the season breaking the school's record for goals scored in a single season. Freshman Emily Lung scored with eight minutes remaining in the half and giving the Bulldogs the lead it needed to win the game. Oakton came out strong in the second half scoring three minutes in, but the Bulldogs never gave up their lead. Stone Bridge's record is now 17-0-2 and will play against Robinson on Friday at 7:30 at Lake Braddock.
Robinson 4, Westfield 1
The Skinny: The Rams won big and now face a Stone Bridge team that they lost to in Ashburn in the regular season, 1-0, on a controversial PK in the final 10 minutes.