Bruins Capture Title, Want One More

Lake Braddock senior forward Annmarie Gambescia pointed to the bleachers at Oakton High School last night following the Bruins' 2-0 Virginia AAA Northern Region championship victory over Westfield.

"I was sitting right there," said Gambescia, who remembered watching older sister Nikki Saucier and the Bruins fall 3-2 in overtime to James River in the 2002 state final also held at Oakton.

Gambescia cupped her fingers around her mouth and warmed her hands as she remembered how disturbingly quiet her home was the night her sister's team let a title slip away.

"It was silent," Gambescia said. "They deserved it, they played amazing that game, but they just didn't have any luck."

Last night, Gambescia scored on a corner less than two minutes into the second half to help seventh-ranked Lake Braddock (22-1) take the first step to claiming that elusive state title.

Gambescia, who has scored six of the Bruins' nine playoff goals, recorded her 11th goal of the season on Lake Braddock's first shot on goal of the second half -- a corner inbounded from sophomore forward Brittany Hopkins that senior midfielder Katie Klatt redirected to Gambescia's stick.

"It's motivation. [Gambescia is] a senior, and this is her last time through," said Hopkins, a speedy forward who has scored 15 goals to go with six assists.

Klatt scored nine minutes later on a penalty stroke that she lifted to the back right corner of the goal for a 2-0 lead.

Both Lake Braddock and Westfield (19-4) earned seven corners, but top-seeded Westfield, which earned three of those corners with less than four minutes left in the first half, could not connect.

Before the season, "There was probably about 27 of us, the ones standing here, that thought we could get this far," Westfield Coach Terri Towle said. "I don't think anybody else had us slated in to be in the district and region championship."

Lake Braddock, which has fallen in the second round of the region tournament for the past three seasons, earned a top seed in next week's Virginia AAA state tournament in Virginia Beach.

During the Bulldogs' seven-game streak, they outscored their opponents 14-1 with six shutouts.

The victory gave Lake Braddock its first region title since 1998 and seventh in school history and helped the Bruins bury the negativity surrounding their Patriot District semifinal loss to sub-.500 Annandale -- a loss that ended Lake Braddock's 18-game winning streak and perfect season.

"That probably was the best thing that could have happened to us," Lake Braddock Coach Diane Miller said. "I didn't like it then, but, now when I think about it, I'm kind of glad."

Westfield's feisty defense -- Kat Kendrick, Maddy Curry and Kelsey Grainer -- which has earned the Bulldogs 13 shutouts this fall, kept the Bruins out of goal for the first half, but in the second half "We came out with more intensity and were pumped up," Klatt said.