Fewer Whiffs, More Whammies

Heck, who has two assists, "will attack forward when she wins the ball," Rike said, "which is scary because, many times, teams have practiced handling midfielders overlapping into the attack, but when you look back and see, 'Oh my gosh, here comes a defender too,' how do you mark that person?"

Deja Vu at Patriot District Title Game

Tonight's Patriot District girls' lacrosse championship between Annandale and West Springfield (5:30 at Lee High School) will be a rematch of last year's title game.

In Monday's semifinals, six Annandale (14-2) players found the net, and the Atoms got four goals and an assist from junior Meredith Rutherford in a 12-10 win over Lake Braddock. Junior Rachel Tomlinson scored five goals on six shots as West Springfield (9-4) beat South County, 15-11, in the other semifinal.

Although West Springfield won the title in '07, Annandale, whose only losses came against O'Connell from the strong Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, is the favorite this year. The Atoms beat West Springfield, 10-8, during the season and have outscored their past six opponents 98-30.

"We're not thinking about last year," said Annandale Coach Cindy Hook. "It's a big game because we're working hard and getting better and better. This one's for the district championship and the patches. It inspires everyone to play above and beyond."

For West Springfield to win back-to-back titles, it will need to shut down Rutherford in the midfield and junior Linda Rayasse (who had three goals against Lake Braddock) on attack.

But the Spartans have some firepower, too: Tomlinson and junior Bonnie Lalich (who had four goals and two assists against South County) lead a squad that is young but energized. Seven sophomores (including high-scoring Chelsea Capets) and four freshmen are on varsity.

"We have to play smarter and limit the turnovers," said Spartans Coach Brian Puhlick. "We can't beat ourselves."

Special correspondents B.J. Koubaroulis and Dave Yanovitz contributed to this report.