Lacrosse Highlights -  4/22 - 4/26

From Coach Larkin

Varsity Girls Lacrosse came off of a tough week last week with two losses. The second loss against ICS was the best I have ever seen our girls play especially because we were down 4 players. Attack, defense and midfield came up big with wonderful transitions. It was a close game, but we lost by two. Molly G. played great and was very intense. This week against Bullis the Varsity Girls played great! Lexi L. had over three interceptions. We out hustled Bullis and our defense played outstanding! Christina D. stood out on defense with great positioning. Looking forward to next week!

From Coach Avery

Gods' favor was with The Woods Academy these past two games.

On Wednesday, April 17, The Woods played National Presbyterian School, and triumphed 7-3, finishing the day with their first victory of the season! Goals were scored by twins Ugo and Ify, both finishing with 2, defensive long pole John, and attackmen Dan and Dakota, both finishing with a single goal. "I'm glad to see the kids finally learning how to work together as a team," said Coach Avery. "This being my first year with them and the minimal practice time we have, I was very proud of how quickly they've warmed up together and adjusted to my coaching style."

The Woods parents were very happy to see the team with a win under the belt.

On Monday afternoon, The Woods Academy, Junior Varsity Lacrosse team, matched up against the Landon Bears. This was quite a match. Landon has a history of being "THE" school to beat, and they have longevity of wins with which to back it. The players on The Bears stepped off the bus knowing that this would be an easy win for them, while The Owls players got dressed in the locker room with an anticipation of losing the game.

Coach Avery heard players comment on how they would get dominated, or they didn't want to play the game. He could really feel the tension between him and his players. "I spoke to the kids about believing in yourself," said Coach Avery. "I believe if you have just an ounce of faith, mustard seed faith, then nothing is impossible with God on our side."

Coach Avery individually pulled the two captains aside, Travis and Ray, for a pep talk. He exclaimed how he was not going to coach them up every play of the game, that they needed to step up as leaders and take control. When the two of them came in agreement, the rest of the team followed.

It was a very exciting game to watch. Good. Solid. Lacrosse. The Woods Academy came out of the gates firing! They scored two quick goals and The Landon Coach called a timeout in the first five minutes. Ray, Dakota, and Sebastian each scored a single goal in the first half, finishing the half 3-0, Owls. With The Woods possessing the ball for a majority of the half.

The second half faceoff experts Ray and Ify continued to win possession of the ball for The Woods. They offense did a great job at moving the ball around. No one was selfish. Every offensive player moved the ball, ran the entire game, and always looked to move the ball one extra pass. This resulted in a collapse in the defense, which left an open man for the shot every time.

There was great sportsmanship on both sides of the field. Unfortunately, The Bears had two injuries, but respect was shown by all players on both teams, honoring them by kneeling to one knee in silence.

The Woods finished on top 3-2.

"I am very happy with my players and I'm glad they are beginning to get used to winning games. That was a great win to get under our belt, but we still have four games left in the season. This will not stop out integrity or drive to do better every day."

Baseball and Softball Highlights    4/22 - 26

From Coach Foti

The JV Softball team had another shut out game against Norwood on Tuesday, April 23.  Nicole had four strike outs and only allowed 10 hits to our 30! All the girls are doing a great job of catching fly balls and fielding hard hit grounds. The girls showed their batting skills, hitting multiple balls into the outfield.  It was truly incredible!  Catherine had great at bats and hit three doubles.  Ines also had a double in the last inning.  The score was 16-0. Go Mighty Owls! 

We had our first very close game against Westminster on Thursday, April 25 at our home field.  We only had a chance to play 3 innings, Nicole pitching two and Ines showing her stuff in one.  Corina had a great game as catcher, allowing nothing to get by her.  Grace made an excellent line drive catch at short to start off the last inning.  Georgia had a great catch in right field as well. Nicole hit a triple to start off the first inning and then Grace hit a single to get the run in.   Ines, Elisa, and Corina also made it home.  The score was 5-4.  

From Coach Washington

It was an amazing game! I am very proud of the Varsity Softball team. They are progressing tremendously. I am proud of them because Langley is known for their excellence in Volleyball and Softball. Langley's team plays fast-pitch for an AAU league. So for ours girls to play the way they play was outstanding!!! I’m not a coach who worries about the run, but I'm interested in our overall performance. The ending score was 6-3. McKenna pitched another great game, she struck out 6 people. That is very difficult to do at this age. I made some changes for the game so everyone could have an opportunity to play in different positions. Starting with Sarah, she normally plays the short center fielder, she played the back catcher’s position and loved it. Carlota played first base and caught every ball that was thrown to her. The coach from Langley came up to me and said, "I thought your girls never played before?" That was a huge compliment because we gave them a run for their money!!!! Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble and reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy.

From Coach Powers and Coach Clubbs

The JV Baseball team had a good week on the diamond. A come from behind win at Norwood on Tuesday was led by a great pitching effort from Will and Patrick. Steady catching by Henry and timely hitting in the late innings helped us take a 4-2 victory. On Thursday, we lost a good game to The Heights, 6-1. Alex pitched a superb game in relief and shut down The Heights hot hitting. The boys hung in there with a good team that played very well in the field and at the plate.

From Coach Maloney and Coach McLean

The Varsity Baseball team had a big win against Georgetown Day this week at historic Povich Field. Luke and Chris pitched very well with excellent support from Jack behind the plate. Chris and JD had big hits. Zach laid down a perfect suicide squeeze bunt which scored a run and Andy had a great bunt hit as well. There were lots of stolen bases by our boys. Fielding was terrific with Ned leading the way. The boys are really playing as a team!

Softball Update

Week of April 15-19

From Coach Foti...
The JV Girls softball team had a shut out game against Green Acres on Tuesday, April 16th.  Nicole pitched a great game and made many plays to first baseman, Georgia.  There were two innings that Nicole and Georgia made all the outs!  Georgia showed her flexibility by making some great stretches to get the out.  Our outfielders worked hard to make sure nothing got passed them and to get rid of the ball quick and make the play. We have a great defensive line up and we showed that today! Catherine had great at bats, making it home every time she was up.  Nicole, Grace, and Cecilia made it on base each time they were at bat.  At the beginning of the game, he Green Acres coach approached me and said he had heard we were, “really good!” The girls have worked hard to get such a great reputation!

The girls continued their winning streak beating Congressional 14-3.  Nicole pitched a great game playing all seven innings, striking out four girls and only walking one.  The entire team did a great job fielding and making sure to get the lead runner to prevent runs from scoring.  Caroline had a great play at left center, getting the out at second.  Ines got a lot of action at second base, making a couple plays at first base.   We had another great game at bat with everyone getting on base at least once throughout the game.  Cecilia had another home run!  We look forward to some good competition against Norwood at home on Tuesday.

From Coach Washington…

This was a great week for softball, the Varsity Girls were pumped up and excited!  On Tuesday, April 16th we competed against Holy Child and played with fast pitch rules, which the girls love.  I started off with Carlota as my pitcher. She did a great job and the defense was the rock of the team.  The first inning we had 6 runs and Holy Child had 2. The second inning approached and McKenna was my pitcher. She made sure no one got on base. She either got ground balls and threw them to the first baseman, Camille, or Grace, my short stop, grounded balls and threw them to Camille. Camille did an excellent job and Victoria my right fielder was always there to cover her.

The most exciting of the game was the last inning. Woods was on defense, the score is 11-7, bases were loaded with 2 outs, Holy Child hit a fly ball in center field. And, what do you know? The game was over. Shavari caught the ball! You had to be there to see it was amazing.

April 18th, The Woods played Congressional, a team everyone wants to defeat! We came up short, but it was an exciting game to see – 13-17.  The rule was slow pitch style, so that means you cannot steal bases. This game was the most competition we had this year.  McKenna pitched the whole game and she only walked one person. That was perfect for me, especially for someone who has never before played softball.  The last inning the score is 7-14. Congressional was up at bat. 3 came home. It was now 7-17 with 1 out. McKenna struck the last 2 out. Now it is our turn at bat and the girls had no idea what the score was. I did tell them we have to put on the heat!  Nail biting time, keep in mind half the girls have never before played.So this shows me that these girls have heart and confidence in themselves and each other. The one that continues to impress me is Shavari. She brought 2 girls home.  We didn't win the game, but we came back from a 10 point deficit, ending the game 13-17. I am very proud of my girls and I would also like to thank the parents for their support and snacks after the game. Go Woods!!!

Lacrosse Update

Week of April 15-19

From Coach Avery...
On Monday, April 15, The Woods JV Boys Lacrosse team matched up against Bullis School in their house. Before the game some of the players on The Woods were going into the game with anticipation on getting blown out by Bullis. If you aren't familiar with Bullis School, they are known for breeding lacrosse players. Bullis has lacrosse as a part of their gym activity and if you have ever been on their campus you have seen that they have several fields which all have lacrosse goals on them.

The game started off with a high intensity level from both sides of the field. The Woods Junior Varsity squad was matching up with upperclassmen, sixth and seventh graders, and you can tell the difference by their sizes, but they matched up very well.

The first half The Woods scored a couple of goals, both by twins Ugo and Ify Eze. This was the icebreaker for the team to gain their confidence and actually believing that they could win this game. On the sideline, one of The Woods players remarked "WE CAN BEAT THEM!" They completed the first half down 5-2.

During the second half the game turned to a field hockey match. Both teams could not pick up a ground ball. During this half they begin to hold the ball and possess most of the clock. Unfortunately, The Woods players began to run out of gas and Bullis began to take off, and proceeded to victory over The Woods 11-5. Ugo Eze had three goals and Ify Eze finished with two.

The official came up to Coach Avery after the game to congratulate him on the work he has done so far with The Woods. He said "Congratulations, Coach, there has been a big change since last year. Normally Bullis beats teams by at least 20 goals." All of The Woods players were very proud of their performance on the field as was Coach Avery.

From Coach Burke...
JV Girls Lacrosse
Megan had 4 interceptions, Sidra had 3. Margaret had 6 goals, Brianna had 4, Maeve had 3, Alyssa 2. Ines had 4 huge saves in the cage in the 2nd half. Caleigh and Molly led in ground balls and midfield transition. The girls looked great.

A couple of highlights from our win on Monday at St Patrick’s (14-8)…Sidra had 4 big saves in the cage, Brianna led in draw controls with 6. Great Midfield Transition play by Megan, Maeve, Margaret, and Molly.

Spring is in the air...

From Coach Larkin...Varsity girls’ lacrosse is off to a great start as they head in to their third game 2-0. Against Norwood on Monday, we were up 6-3 at half time. With about five minutes left in the second half we were tied 7-7. The Woods Academy came away with a 9-7 win after great work by our strong defense and many saves and excellent clears by our goalie, Lindsay Joseph.  Kathryn Maloney came up with a big interception which led to a beautiful transition and finished with a goal by our fierce attack in the final minutes of the game. Looking forward to playing Langley next week!  

From Coach Damien...The Woods Academy vs. Mater Dei - April 7th

On Monday, The Woods Academy Varsity lacrosse team lost on the scoreboard to Mater Dei by the score of 12 – 5.   The players were disappointed in their loss and this is a good thing; they want to win. 

Prior to the season, this game appeared a bit daunting to the team of 13 players - playing against an opponent that outnumbered them 2 to 1 and spends a good part of their actual school day devoted to practicing lacrosse as a team.

One could really question whether The Woods Academy could make it a competitive event, but they did. And the Owls did this despite losing to injury their best defenseman, who exited the game mid-way through the second quarter, after having scored two goals.

A great Coach, once said, “You can play a terrible game and win; and play a great game and lose.” The latter was the case for the Owls on Monday.  For The Woods Academy team, this game was an all hands on deck affair.  To match the numbers of their opponent, everyone had to assume roles and positions they normally do not play. Attack players played midfield, and in goal; a goalie played midfield; middies and defenseman played everywhere and everywhere they competed well.  

Defenseman slid correctly to support their teammates, the attack brought the ball correctly behind the goal to attack and maintain possession, midfielders did a wonderful job playing defense, switching when necessary; and, on offense---dodging strong from up top.

As stated, after the game the boys were not pleased with the results. They left the field upset discussing missed opportunities, strategies that could have been exploited to better their chances - searching for ways they could have won.

In the team’s disappointment, their Coach took great comfort because from his vantage point he saw and heard things they did not see or hear.  He could see novice players executing as a team in a way they never had. On the sidelines, throughout the game, he heard the Mater Dei coaches saying, “You know this number and that numbered player is really good!  They are beating us to the ground balls!  They want it more!” The Woods Academy players didn’t hear this; and in their exhaustion they couldn’t see what they had accomplished.

Prior to the season, many players openly questioned whether playing Mater Dei was a bit too ambitious---placing the bar a little too high. “It wouldn’t be fun,” they said.  “They have too many players, too many experienced players….far more time to practice.” For the record, it should be acknowledged all of their observations were correct.  And yet, during the game, their Coach saw these same players play fearlessly to win.  At each break between quarters and time outs, he heard them offer suggestions on how they could beat the opponent. And when they lost, he saw a team genuinely disappointed in the results, no longer intimidated by the Griffins, and believing they could have won.

From Coach Washington...It was a cold and sunny day for softball.  Woods vs. Norwood was the varsity girls first fast pitch game of the season. McKenna, our pitcher, played a excellent game. Even though she had never pitched, she connected with our catcher, Elizabeth. Thanks to Grace's excellent skills in the short stop position, Norwood was shut down from getting on base. Thanks to outstanding base running by the Owls, we ended the first inning with a 9-3 lead. This was a great first game of the season for our squad. Despite the cold, the girls played their hearts out. We beat Norwood 15 - 5. 

From Coach Maloney and McLean...Luke Diess pitched 3 impressive innings and Chris McCormick was excellent in relief for the varsity boys’ baseball team. The Woods was in the game until the final inning. There were some sparkling plays in the field by Anthony Mahshigian, Luke Humler, and Ned Flanagan. Gabe Schneider had a terrific at bat, fouling off 6 straight pitches to keep his at bat alive. Boys supported each other throughout and played without fear.