2022.05.16 Girls Lacrosse: Potomac District Quarterfinal, Briar Woods @ Potomac Falls

Potomac Falls, VA (May 16, 2022) - The last time the Briar Woods Falcons visited the Potomac Falls Panthers, the home team won a thriller in overtime, 12-11, and that result had a lot to do with placement for the Potomac District tournament. Earning the fourth seed gave the Panthers the chance to host, but the Falcons would come with something to prove.

Chas Sumser Photography was there to capture the action and emotion and posted a gallery of images from the game.

Potomac Falls scored so quickly that it looked like this one might be a rout. With two fairly easy goals in five minutes (from Kelly Hoyle and Jaelyn Hawes), Briar Woods seemed vulnerable. But Delainy Prosper would score two goals and Dahlia Trippel would add another to give Briar Woods their first lead of the half, 3-2, with eight minutes remaining.

And the final five minutes of the half would be the wildest of the night as both teams would score three more times. Even more incredible was that the "3" on each team scored all of those goals--three for Prosper and three for Hawes--to make the Potomac Falls lead 6-5 at halftime. The half ended with the Falcons just barely in front, but the momentum seemed to be on the Potomac Falls side after Hawes scored two of her goals in the final two minutes.

That Panther momentum exploded to open the second half as the Panthers scored five goals in three minutes in a huge display of offensive firepower. Together, Emma Gabriel and Sarah Gabriel were the force behind the surge--and not just in scoring, but in sheer hustle for ball possession. When Briar Woods finally scored again--on another goal by Prosper--the Falcons were down, 10-7.

Potomac Falls would never trail again, but it wasn't easy to hold on to the lead. The Falcons scored six times in the final eight minutes, and had a chance to tie with the ball right in front of Potomac Falls goalie Anderson Strange, but they couldn't finish and the Panthers were able to run out the clock.

Although twenty-seven goals were scored in total, that is not to say that Strange and Falcon goalie Anna Osborne didn't have good games, they did. And it's not to say that the defenses weren't good, they were. But when you have outstanding individual performances from Propser (8 goals) and Hawes (5) even the best defenses are going to get beaten.

Final Score: Potomac Falls 14 - Briar Woods 13