Prior to her team’s season opener several weeks ago against two-time defending state champion Lake Braddock, Langley High girls’ soccer coach Gretchen Hamm warned her squad that the Bruins, despite having lost several players to graduation and being under a new coach, would be a handful.
And that was the case as Braddock soundly defeated the Saxons, 4-0.
It was a tough setback for Langley and Hamm, the program’s first year head coach.
"I remember preparing for the game and telling the girls the Lake Braddock team graduated 12 players from last year, that they had a new coach and were a relatively young team," recalled Hamm. "But [I told the girls] you can’t discount them. Those [Lake Braddock] girls are going to have such a chip on their shoulders."
Langley paid heed to its new coaches’ words about the Bruins. But when the match was played, the simple truth was that Lake Braddock, in the game played at Langley, simply played outstanding. The Bruins probably would have beaten anyone on that day.
"They were just on fire," said Hamm, of the Bruins. "It was a rough day the next day in practice seeing all of the girls’ [sad] faces. But we bounced back the next week."
The Saxons, in fact, have been playing solid soccer ever since. In the following game after the loss to Lake Braddock, Langley shocked talented Oakton with a come-from-behind 3-2 overtime win on March 25 at home.
Three days later, Langley played Chantilly and former coach Melissa Bibbee to a 1-1 overtime tie before getting back into the win column with a stellar 4-0 win at T.C. Williams on April 1.
Since the T.C. win, Langley has had two Liberty District games postponed due to poor weather—last Thursday’s scheduled contest against Jefferson, and this past Monday’s scheduled game at South Lakes.
"It’s a little frustrating," said Hamm, of the team not playing over the last week. "It’s hard to maintain a high level of intensity, but [the girls] have been pretty good."
Langley’s next scheduled game is this Friday night at 7, when the Saxons will host district opponent Marshall.
Hamm and her coaches livened practice up a little bit last Friday by playing 4-on-4 intrasquad practice games in which varsity and JV team members teamed up for a little tournament. The champion got a chance to play a game against the Langley coaches. And, in fact, the Saxon coaches ended up
prevailing with a 3-2 finals win.
<b>IN LANGLEY’S</b> dramatic win over Oakton, the Saxons looked all but out of it after falling behind, 2-0, within the first 12 minutes of the contest.
That was still the score well into the second half before Langley, with 10 minutes remaining, got onto the scoreboard on a goal by senior right defender Lauren Hakim to get within 2-1.
Seven minutes later, with regulation time running out, junior McCaul Benson, moments after being shaken up on a play, came through big time with a goal to tie the game at 2-2 with three minutes left.
"She was injured the play before, got up and, all of a sudden, the ball was in front of her," said Hamm. "She shot and scored."
Later, two minutes into the 10 minute overtime session, the Saxons went ahead for good, 3-2, when junior Carly Snively found the net.
After that, the Langley defense shut down the Cougars over the final eight minutes of overtime to preserve the lead and gain the win.
Some of Langley’s key players this season include juniors Marissa Park and Brittany Fruin, both of whom are exceptional offensive players.
The Saxons are strong defensively with three seniors, Ivana Goal, sweeper Alex Meadows and Hakim, who leads the team with four goals.
The trio, along with freshman goalie Kathryn Caine, has been key factors in the Saxons allowing only three goals thus far.
Caine is a skilled net-minder who should be a steady force for the Saxons over the next several years.
"She has amazing composure and great skills," said Hamm, of the ninth grader. "I look forward to her being my goalie the next four years."
Coach Hamm, who is from Massachusetts, coached club soccer in the Northern Virginia area for five years before working as an assistant coach for the Annandale High girls’ team last year. She was hired to be the new Langley coach last fall, replacing former coach Bibbee.
She has enjoyed coaching the Saxons and said her seniors have stepped up and led the team.
"It’s really been pretty smooth, I think," said Hamm, of coaching Langley. "As soon as I was hired last fall, I met with the girls. I told the seniors, `Listen, I’m going to give you respect and trust as if I had coached you for four years, and in return I expect you to give me respect and trust [in the same way].
"The senior girls have been great," said Hamm. "They have been helpful in tryouts, communicating well with the underclassmen. I really couldn’t ask for anything more from them."
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