Westfield High Weekly Sports Review

Field Hockey firing on all cylinders

Bulldog Field Hockey is on fire in 2011. The varsity team has won eight of its last nine matches and boasts an outstanding 12-2 record on the season. The became Westfield’s latest victim this past Wednesday as the Bulldogs held them scoreless on Centreville’s home field, 5-0. Despite the big win Coach Starr Karl said her team could have played better.

“It wasn’t a pretty game," said Karl. "We have a hard time playing on grass and it was really difficult because they had to move the game to the football field and it was difficult for both teams.”

The Bulldogs’ dominance can be attributed to the well-balanced chemistry of the squad, Karl said. Four players scored for , the first two coming from Westfield’s bench. But Meghan Winesett has been the star this season with selfless and die-hard performances week in and week out.

“It was a team effort as far as scoring and our first two goals were from a girl off the bench and then three starters scored. If Meghan Winesett is on, we usually play very, very well because she is a great distributor of the ball and she has 17 goals and 10 assists," Karl said.

The team should earn a high seed as it enters the Concorde District tournament beginning Oct. 18. But first, the Karl’s Bulldogs must face two tough rivals in Langley and Herndon before the playoffs.

“Hopefully we’ll be mentally tough and ready to go,” she said. “We’ll need to adjust to playing on grass.”

Westfield plays at Langley at 4 p.m. on Oct. 11.

Football Team remains undefeated

The undefeated Bulldogs (6-0) 40-14 last Thursday night as its star quarterback Matthew Pisarcik passed for 176 yards and Anderson rushed for more than 100 yards once again.

“Last night was one of the first real indicators of what might be in our future. I think the score was a little bit bigger margin than the game really was,” said coach Kyle Simmons. “I think Chantilly’s a better team than they showed, but I’m not taking away anything for our team.”

All 11 players clicked well on defense for the Bulldogs in their 4-4 base strategy, which allows them to pressure opposing quarterbacks all season. Simmons said an undefeated record would be great but a district championship is what you work for all year, especially in such a competitive district as the Concorde. 

“I can’t say I knew that would be the case. I felt we had the potential to have a solid football team, “ Simmons said. “I sensed there was potential there. The Concorde District is tough to play in and football-wise, it’s considered one of the if not the toughest district in the state.”

The Bulldogs must play its best football over the next month as they face undefeated teams in Oakton and Centreville along with an improved Herndon Hornet team who put up 41 points against the Cougars last week, in order to earn a top seed in the Concorde playoffs.

Westfield plays its Homecoming game against West Potomac at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 14.

Volleyball Suffers Rough Week

The (11-10) was forced to play three matches in three nights due to make-up games. Oct. 3 was meant to be a fun-filled special evening as the Bulldogs hosted “Breast Cancer Awareness night” at home. Unfortunately it turned into disaster as defensive specialist senior Alex Collier dislocated her knee during a game in the middle of the court. Head Coach Jim Bour said he had never witnessed anything so “heart-wrenching” and felt helpless as Collier reeled in pain.

Collier showed courage and guts as she told Bour, “Coach I got it, don’t worry.”

“She’s going to be there for us until she beats this,” Bour said.

Westfield would go on to lose the match 3-0 and fell short the following two nights as well on the road at Madison and Robinson.

“Robinson played very well and attacked us really hard. I have to give them a lot of credit, and we weren’t able to match them offensively.”

The coach is impressed with his team’s defensive play and serving but feels the offense still needs improvement, especially at finishing off kills. Bour has had to move players out of their normal positions to fill in for Collier and another player suffering from the flu. This unfortunate situation has led to a thinner bench.

“It shows the character of this team hat they pulled it together to hustle,” Bour said. “I’m doing things I’ve never experienced as a coach but you keep fighting and they worked as hard as they could. That’s why I think we’re going to be alright at the end of this month when we come out of this.”

Westfield plays at Herndon at 7:15 p.m. on Oct. 12.

Cross-Country Team off to Warmer Climate

The Bulldogs’ varsity cross-country team decided to leave the dreary rain behind this past weekend and sojourn to sunny Florida for the Disney CC Classic this weekend. Westfield returns this week to compete in two more meets before the Concorde District tournament begins at Lake Fairfax on Oct. 20.

The Bulldogs compete next in a district meet at Burke Lake on Oct. 11.

Editor's Note: At the time the article was written, the Disney Classic meet had not yet taken place.

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