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Foxcroft takes tourney trophy
Foxcroft School girls' lacrosse was victorious in the four-team Foxcroft Invitational Tournament held April 25-26 at the school's bucolic Middleburg campus.The tournament opened with a 14-3 Foxcroft win versus neighboring Notre Dame Academy, while Norfolk Collegiate School bested Potomac High School, of Dumfries, 12-3. Foxcroft earned the first-place trophy the next day by handling Collegiate 11-3.
Foxcroft jumped out to an early 5-0 start with three goals from sophomore midfielder Ashton Marshall, who finished with six goals and an assist.
Down 8-1 at halftime, Norfolk Collegiate collected the first two goals of the second half and turned up the defense, inducing a 16-minute Foxcroft scoring drought.
Marshall ended the drought when she found the back of the net with 4:20 remaining, then scored again a minute later.
For Foxcroft, Whitney Weeden scored two goals and helped on three others, while Meredith “Dish” Harris illustrated her nickname with three assists, contributing a goal.
Chelsy Coil, a Michigan State commitment and the primary draw-taker for second-year coach Ruth Marshall, added a pair of scores in the effort.
Coach Marshall credited her team's attention to transitional ball-movement as instrumental in creating offensive opportunities.
“The ball moves faster in the air, and you don't give them an opportunity to double-team if you keep moving the ball,” she said. “This year, we've developed more patience on offense.”
Her daughter agreed.
“We've been working on transition, and I think that's what really helped,” said Ashton Marshall, who has been coached by her mother in various sports since the age of 4.
The mother-daughter combination has proven fruitful for Foxcroft. Ashton is the team's leading scorer with 40 goals and 49 points, while Ruth has led the team to a 6-3 record a year after making the semifinal round of the Independent School League state tournament.
“She knows what I can do, and if I'm not playing well, she doesn't have any problem yelling at me,” Ashton said, laughing, about her coaching mother.
Ruth Marshall said, “She and I just have a happy medium. I know when to give her space and when to back off.”
The consolation contest between Potomac and Notre Dame was a seesaw affair. Down 4-3 at the half, the sides traded goals for a 6-4 Potomac advantage.
Brandi Byner, Notre Dame's sophomore center whose speed is reminiscent of her father Earnest's days as an NFL running back, burst up the middle for consecutive scores to tie the game. Byner scored four times on the day.
“Brandi has wheels, so we can definitely count on her to drive it up,” said first-year coach Krista Struder, who has guided the Notre Dame Dragons to a 4-7 record.
As the clock ticked down to two minutes, Notre Dame attacker Mallory Blessed took a long pass across the view of Potomac goalkeeper Emily Cribb and swiped it into the bottom corner of the net for the game's final tally.
It was the second time this season that the Dragons came from a one-goal halftime deficit to defeat the Panthers by a 7-6 score.
The tournament is the first of what Foxcroft athletic director Katie Ryan Kantz intends to make an annual event featuring eight teams. Kantz reports that several institutions have expressed interest.
Among other improvements to the school's athletic facilities, a second playing field is being constructed. Kantz would like to hold tournaments for field hockey and soccer as well as lacrosse.
“It's not for anyone else but the girls,” Kantz said.
Marshall, a Foxcroft alumna, said, “In the Independent School League, our girls aren't usually able to advance much further than the second round of the playoff tournaments.
“I wanted to give them something they can hold as their own. We have a trophy.”
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