Washington-Lee Defeats Yorktown to Claim Boys Lacrosse Title

ALEXANDRIA, VA. – In the playoff picture for the Northern Region Boys Lacrosse championships, Washington-Lee High School defeated Arlington rival Yorktown High 14-8 to claim the Generals' first-ever title in boys lacrosse.
 
The Generals made dramatic strides this season under first-year head coach Patrick Gallagher.

In the Patriot District: W.T. Woodson turned back Annandale 13-10. The Cavaliers recent move from the Liberty District to the Patriot District did nothing to deprive the Cavaliers of another lacrosse title.
 
The Cavaliers and the Atoms should both be considered reasonable heavyweights in the Northern Region Tournament scheduled for this week.

In the Liberty District: Langley defeated Madison 18-16 as Saxon veteran head coach Earl Brewer won yet another Liberty Title.

In the Concorde District: Robinson defeated Chantilly 9-4 to claim the prestigious title in one of the States' toughest Districts.

16 Northern Region teams (four from each District) will compete in the Northern Region Tournament this current week.

In terms of BOYS SOCCER - in the National District quarter-finals: Mount Vernon shut out Wakefield 4-0, JEB Stuart edged Edison 1-0, Yorktown defeated Falls Church 4-2 and Hayfield will square off with Washington-Lee at 5pm on May 18th - too late for this edition. (The four quarter-finals winners will meet later this week in the semi-finals and eventually the finals).

In the Patriot District: T.C. Williams blanked Annandale 1-0, West Potomac defeated perennial powerhouse West Springfield 2-1 [PK's], Lake Braddock defeated R.E. Lee 3-0 and W.T. Woodson defeated South County 1-0. (The four quarter-finals winners will meet later this week in the semi-finals and eventually the finals).

In the Liberty District, Jefferson defeated Madison 2-1, McLean blanked Fairfax 3-0, Langley edged G.C. Marshall 2-1 and Stone Bridge skunked South Lakes 2-0. (The four quarter-finals winners will meet later this week in the semi-finals and eventually the finals).

In the Concorde District, the western-most District opted to play it's quarter-final contests on May 18th as opposed to May 17th (as the great majority of the National, Patriot and Liberty schools chose to do). Consequently, on May 18th (too late for this edition), third-seeded Herndon will host sixth-seeded Chantilly and fourth-seeded Oakton will host fifth-seeded Westfield.
 
Top-seeded Robinson and second-seeded Centreville have the day off and have automatically punched their ticket to the District semi-final round - based on finishing #1 and #2 in the regular season.

As with lacrosse, 16 schools (four from each District) will eventually qualify for the Regional Soccer Tournament (next week).

In terms of Major League Baseball, the Washington Nationals dropped to 20-19 overall in the current campaign following a 6-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on May 17th.

After being five games over .500 (20-15) just a number of days ago, the Nats have unfortunately dropped four in a row on the road to weigh-in at merely one game over .500 currently.

The Nationals, coached by Jim Riggleman, will return to Nats Park to square off with the New York Mets (May 19-20) as well as with the Baltimore Orioles (May 21-22-23).

That is after the Nats wrap up their stay in St. Louis on May 18th.

In the competitive National League East, Philadelphia mans the top spot with a record of 24-13. Both Washington and Florida are tied for second at 20-19. The New York Mets are closely behind at 19-20 and the Atlanta Braves are in the basement with a record of 18-20.

In terms of National League pitching, Washington is 12th amongst 16 teams with a team ERA of 4.48 (statistics are through May 16th). The Nats pitching staff does lead the league in saves with 15 of them. The Washington pitching staff has one complete game and two shutouts under its belt thus far this season.

Individually, Matt Capps has 14 of the 15 saves and an ERA of .93. Livan Hernandez weighs-in with a record of 4-2 and an ERA of 1.46. Tyler Clippard weighs-in with a record of 7-2 and an ERA of 2.05. Scott Olsen weighs-in with a record of 2-1 and an ERA of 3.15.

In the book entitled - THE BASEBALL HANDBOOK - Winning Fundamentals for Players and Coaches (written by Bernie Walter - 2002) - pages 11-13 discuss Coach and Players Roles and Communication.

Mr. Walter states the following: "The Coach's job is to establish an environment that permits the assistants and players the opportunity to be the best they can be. You can create a solid working environment in a variety of ways: 1) Give Everyone Responsibility. 2) Let Them Know You Care. 3) Assist Them In Making Good Decisions. 4) Treat Them As Winners. 5) Playing With Good Sportsmanship Should Be As Important As Playing To Win. 6) Motivate, Reward and Emphasize. 7) Avoid Boring and Repetitive Practice Sessions. 8) Plan For Success. 9) Allow Adequate Time For Review and 10) Communicate.