Landon Lacrosse 9 Bullis 7

Bullis hit Triplett Field at Bordley Stadium full of confidence; their losses were against the #1 team in the country, a MIAA stud and Landon; PLUS, their roster is filled with highly rated commits. However, the home team  was on a 14 game win streak.

The IAC Championship tournament format requires a successful team to defeat, again?, a league opponent in the finals. Two wins against a foe is always a challenge—they know what worked well in game 1.

Consistent with past Bear games and frankly most high level games, the opening possessions are more “testing” than full combat. The White jerseys struck 1^st on a quick goal by MAKANA NEVEROSKY beating his opponent and the Bullis goalie @11:00. The visitors responded to equalize the score at 8:23. The Bear transition team successfully cleared 5 of 5 times and stopped the Potomac Bulldogs 3 times while allowing 4 clears.

END OF Q1 BEARS 1 BULLDOGS 1

Coach McGettigan and his staff learned something from the 1^st 12 minutes for the Home O was electric.

The Opening Faceoff was won by HAYDEN GOOZH who scooped the ball, flew down the field and passed to fellow Xman, TALEN SMITH, whose super hard shot might have gone through the nets, rolling the score to 2 for Landon @ 11:41. That was the 1^st FOGO to FOGO TALLY in my 60 years of watching lax.

The momentum continued- a BROKEN CLEAR (Landon’s rides have been a THREAT to 2025 opponents) and this time aggressive play resulted in the ball ending up in MAKANA’s stick who buried it @10:57.  The X continued as an offensive weapon, HAYDEN controlled the ball and passed it to JONAS HAWKINS @10:26 for Landon’s 3^rd goal in the initial 120 seconds of P2. Bullis finally got a goal, in EMO mode, at 9;38.

MACK COHEN jetted post the Bulldog defender and posted the Bears’ 5^th goal@2:33. Soon thereafter , SEAN MURRAY ‘s vision caught fellow senior RILEY LUGAR for another home goal at 1:36. A BS timeout resulted in a goal at 0:05.8.

In this segment, STEPHEN RISO stopped 2 of 4 SOGs; while his teammates put 7 shots between the blue goal. F/O saw HAYDEN win 7 of 7 and grabbing 6 GBs. The Bear clear was 100% and stopped the Bulldogs 1 of 3 attempts

HALFTIME BEARS 6 BULLDOGS 3

The intermission led to a visitors’ resurgence; they scored 3 times (7:31, 3:29 and 2:34) on 4 SOGs. Fortunately, the Bears still knew where to shoot. JONAS passed to SEAN who was able to register a goal (his 2^nd point) @9:05. A furious encounter in front of the Bulldog goal saw shot(s) and rebound(s). JONAS caught one of those bounces and scored @ 5:34.

The narrowing of the margin occurred even though the FOGO’s were 4 of 6, the transition D to O was 3 for 3 and the ride 1 stop of 3 attempts.

END OF P3 BEARS 8 BULLDOGS 6

Momentum could have swung to the Potomac Bulldogs, especially when they came within a goal of the Bears at 7:54. When the Bears needed a goal and in spite of voracious checking from the BS defender, SEAN fought through the defender TO SCORE @ 4:24. Careful, time-consuming possessions and an energetic all field defense by the Bears assured their 18^th win of 2025.

This year’s edition of Landon lacrosse was noteworthy for a numbers of reasons:

• A senior leadership that continued a culture of team Uber Alles.

• A constant energy, that denied clears, that won one-on-one and mass battles for GBs.

• A patient offense, executing Coack Kubik’s complex system.

• A defense that was so deep in Close Ds, LSMs, SSDNs, help from 2 way middies and a STALLWART GOALIE. Clearly this unit not only understood Coach Cassidy’s (’06) structure but executed it under duress.

• The FOGOs dominated the X and created offense (scored and assisted) based on the coaching of Will Powell ’17.

• Coaches Bordley, Padalino and Smith created an atmosphere of smart play and cooperation in every aspect of the game.

• Last but not least, KUDOs to the parents who supported the players and coaches in so many, largely unseen ways. Year after year, these dedicated members of Landon sports deserve credit to helping their sons achieve their best.

The chronicling of Bear lacrosse began in 2011. Each team over that decade plus exhibited Landon’s values—Respect, Honesty, Teamwork, Responsibility, Perseverance, Kindness, Inclusivity, Courage, Gratitude, Humility and Service. While all of these elements may not be easily seen on a competitive field, all were respected some way or another. 2025 was a BEAR of a season and congrats to all who contributed to this exemplary record.

THOSE ARE BEARS!!!

Lacrosse’s origin is traced to the  Haudenosaunee people. They were deeply spiritual and observed a constellation of animal figures who exemplified their beliefs. The Bear Spirit holds significant meaning in Haudenosaunee culture. The Bear Clan is deeply connected to spiritual well-being and medicinal healing. Traditionally, the health of Haudenosaunee villages was entrusted to Bear Clan medicine women, who were believed to possess knowledge of natural remedies and healing practices.

One Haudenosaunee legend tells of an old man who wandered through a village seeking food and shelter. He was turned away by several clans until a Bear Clan woman took him in and cared for him. In return, the old man—who later revealed himself as the Creator—taught her the secrets of medicinal plants, ensuring that the Bear Clan would always have the knowledge to heal the people.

Other spirits of the Haudenosaunee

Also true in 2024!!!