Bulldogs Field Hockey Wins Districts

’s varsity field hockey team (16-2) was tested early in the Concorde semi-final against the Chargers (10-8) Wednesday night but the Bulldogs pulled out the win, 2-1. They then advanced to the district final Friday, where they dominated Oakton (14-4) to win the Concorde Championship, 7-1.

“We played phenomenal. They’re starting to come together,” said Coach Starr Karl. “Chantilly gave us a great game. We had 15 penalty corners and weren’t finishing. Last night [against Oakton] we finished.”

The Bulldogs ensured they would not let Oakton get close as the girls fired off four goals within the first 10 minutes of play. Rachael Ulsh, Katie Winesett and Kelly Duncan each scored two goals, while captain Meghan Winesett added one goal and three assists. Freshman mid-fielder Emily McNamara came up big with two assists to aid her fellow teammates in the victory.

Next up is the Northern Regional Tournament where Westfield will face West Potomac who was a fifth-seed “Cinderella” team that upset Woodson to win the Patriot District on Friday.

This is Coach Karl’s 19th championship in 22 years of coaching field hockey. She called the championship win a “team effort” and added the Bulldogs will not take West Potomac lightly, but instead continue to focus solely on their game.

“We take one game at a time and focus on what we do best and not how other teams play,” she said. “If we play well then good things will happen, but if we don’t play well then we don’t deserve to win.”

Westfield plays at home against West Potomac at 7 p.m. on Oct. 25.

Football team still undefeated

The Westfield varsity football team (8-0) derailed Oakton’s (7-1) hopes of going undefeated with a dominant victory Friday night over the Cougars, 35-10. Kendell Anderson turned in another outstanding performance, rushing for 241 yards on 27 carries and scoring all five touchdowns for Westfield. Senior quarterback Matthew Pisarcik remained on target with accuracy, completing 8 of 9 passes for 84 yards. Head Coach Kyle Simmons said his QB had a “breakthrough” as he learned to throw the ball away when a play was not there and showed maturity.

“He’s a competitor and a leader. I was very pleased that we contributed in all three facets of the game,” said Coach Simmons. “I was also pleased that we seemed to get stronger as the game went on and got in a groove. This team has impressed me how they come out in the second half, even when we’re up.”

Wide receiver Artie Pickett may only stand 5’7” and weigh 134 pounds, but he has a quick burst of speed and runs precise routes. He came up big against the Cougars, hauling in five catches for 62 yards. Coach Kyle Simmons said his offense threw mostly short, underneath passes in the Oakton game but he would like to stretch the field in the future.

“The fact that we got our quick passing game early was [helpful] and it was working,” Simmons said. “But I’d like to see us get the ball vertical a little more.”

Westfield’s special teams made a huge contribution in the game as Tyrone Walker and Alex Krall each blocked punts. Matt Delaney was a perfect 5 for 5 on PATs and has only had to kick a handful of field goals this season, as the red-zone offense has been superb all year. Junior defensive back Tommy Weston had an interception late in the fourth to insure the win.

Westfield plays at Centreville at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 28.

Volleyball team drops one to the "other" Bulldogs

The Bulldogs’ volleyball team (12-11) has hit a rough patch recently, losing four of their last five matches. The latest being Wednesday night’s 3-0 (15-25, 11-25, 20-25) loss to Stone Bridge (18-2) in the “Battle of the Bulldogs.” To be fair, Stone Bridge has shut out 15 of its 18 opponents this season and looks to be the team to beat in the region. The tumble began when star setter Alex Collier went down with a dislocated knee against Chantilly on “Breast Cancer Awareness” night.

“I had scouted them and knew what we were getting into,” Coach Jim Bour said of Stone Bridge. “I knew it would take us playing at the top of our game and unfortunately they have some very, very good servers and our passing kind of let us down. They just kind of served us off the court.”

However, Westfield looked great defensively at the net while blocking Stone Bridge’s star killer, Ryan Ackermann. Bour had scouted his opponent heavily and proud of his girls for the job they performed. The coach added that although libero Jessica Turner had a great night passing, he feels the team needs another big-time passer on its roster.

“You want to pass on a 3.0 scale being the highest and our best passes were on a 2.0 level. Our passers need to step op. I need to do something to help them get stronger and help them with their passing.”

A losing streak can be broken just as easily as a winning one and Bour said he believes the Concorde District is “mixed up” and wide open for the taking. 

“We need to put ourselves in the best situation,” he said. “We need to take care of the Concorde and get a real good playoff spot.”

Westfield has played a good dozen of the teams who have All-District or All-Region players on their rosters. Bour said having matched up against those squads previously in the season has only helped better his team come playoff time.

“You don’t get better playing weaker teams because they don’t test you,” he said. “You couldn’t ask for a better test with [Stone Bridge] and we don’t want to travel, we want to host.”

The Bulldogs play at home on “Senior Night” against Oakton at 7:15 p.m. on Oct. 25.