A Win-Win for Valley Girls' Lacrosse

No. 9 Vikings Sweep OP and Yorktown

By Matt McFarland

Saturday, April 25, 2009

The usual routine for the Loudoun Valley girls' lacrosse team between games goes something like this: go home, eat, rest, sleep, attend classes, practice for a few days and then play again.

Yesterday, mother nature forced the ninth-ranked Vikings to adopt a different approach.

After beating Osbourn Park, 20-0, in a makeup game that started at 9 a.m., Loudoun Valley's players walked to the school cafeteria to snack on fruit and nutrition bars. For about an hour they relaxed - listening to Taylor Swift and giving each other back massages.

Then they returned to the field and played Yorktown at noon.

Asked to describe how she felt after playing two games in less than five hours, midfielder Shannon Harkey used only one word: "tired."

Harkey notched four goals and two assists as the Vikings beat visiting Yorktown, 16-4, though her squad opened the game slowly. "Sluggish," was how Coach Jay Harkey, Shannon's father, described it.

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Loudoun Valley Knocks Off Yorktown

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Loudoun Valley's Ellen Fuller scores late in the second half against Yorktown. (Joel Richardson)

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Loudoun Valley's Shannon Harkey scored four goals against Yorktown on Saturday. (Joel Richardson)

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Loudoun Valley's Shannon Harkey takes a stick to the face from Yorktown's Meghan Reed early in the first half. (Joel Richardson)

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Yorktown scored the game's first goal, but that was the Patriots' only lead. Loudoun Valley (10-0) settled down and rattled off seven straight goals to put the game out of reach.

The Vikings' depth came in handy playing two games on an especially hot day. Harkey rotated three midfield lines throughout the day to keep his players fresh.

"It's probably the biggest strength we've got that we have depth," Harkey said. Every one of Loudoun Valley's 22 players played in both games.

Most valuable of them all may have been Shannon Harkey, who used her speed and shooting to score and to set up her teammates.

The baby of the family, Shannon has three older siblings playing lacrosse at UMBC and Christopher Newport. As the coach's daughter, Shannon gets no special treatment from her father.

"I'm probably harder on her than any of them. She's got a really good disposition about it," Harkey said.

Shannon's best play may have come with just more than 14 minutes to play in the second half. The junior scooped up a groundball near the goal and flicked a perfect pass to classmate Michelle Zakrzewski, who quick-sticked a shot past the goalie for one of her two goals.

Loudoun Valley controlled the ball much of the game against Yorktown, running plays to clear the ball or set up scoring opportunities.

Vikings goalie Kelsey Luck came up with 15 saves but spent a lot of time alone, watching her team's offense operate at the other end of the field.

"Our offense is so consistent, sometimes it can be boring standing down there by myself," the sophomore said.

Midfielder Hope Barrazotto scored two goals for Yorktown (10-3).

Notes: In the first half, Loudoun Valley's Andrea Mustacchio scooped up a groundball and tried to spin away from two Yorktown defenders. But as she spun, the net of one of Patriots' sticks entangled in her braid. Play was stopped and she freed the stick from her hair. ... Loudoun Valley entered the game having scored 43 goals in its last two games.

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks