Thursday
April 28, 2022
SPORTS: Youth, High School, College, Recreational, Professional
Serving Goochland County Since 1955
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Boys lacrosse team off to great start By Robby Fletcher Sports Editor
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losing in on the final seconds of what would be an 11-7 win for the Goochland boys junior varsity lacrosse team against Orange County on March 16, head coach Matt Leynes could sense the moment firmly cemented in history. In the first game in program history, the Bulldogs were able to secure a victory despite boasting a roster that had nearly as many newcomers to the sport as it did experienced lacrosse players. In fact, Leynes counted 10 of his 24 players had never picked up a lacrosse stick until the team began their offseason conditioning just two months before their first game. That victorious moment, Leynes says, stands atop his personal coaching Mount Rushmore. “That will go down as one of the top moments in my coaching career,” Leynes said. “You can’t make it up, that’s something special, and to do it at home as the first game in program history, it just meant so much.” While Leynes has been coaching the sport for over eight years, including running his own travel team, he saw the coaching position with the JV Bulldogs in their inaugural season as an opportunity he had never tackled before, and seeing how the team has progressed to a 5-2 record in its first few months of infancy, he can’t help but be pleased. “Every one of my 24 players wants it and is committed to the game of lacrosse. It just makes it easy on the coach to deliver,” Leynes said. Leynes credits the sup-
Photos by Robby Fletcher
Left, freshman team captain Andrew Craddock makes a run up the field with the ball in the mesh of his stick as he quickly turns defense into offense in Goochland’s 10-9 win against Charlottesville on April 15. Right, junior Adger Cardani surveys the field moments before he scores an early first quarter goal.
port from athletic director Joe Fowler, principal Chris Collier and Goochland Middle School vice principal Patrick Gordon as key components to getting the program up and running, and with the necessary team resources to draw interested athletes in, the program is already fast tracked to have a varsity team along with the current JV team by next season. Among the pioneering Bulldogs are a few players familiar with Leynes as a coach with his team Tomahawk Lacrosse, including freshman midfielder and captain Andrew Craddock as well as goalie Wyatt Richardson. Craddock, who has played lacrosse since the third grade, is one of the more experienced
players on the team, and says he sees the rapid progress the team has made firsthand. “A lot of people on this team are just naturals at this game,” he said. One of the most fast-developing aspects of the team has been the three-man defensive back line consisting of juniors Josh Usry and Easton Bowman along with freshman Charlie Darr, all three of whom have never played lacrosse up until this season. The trio all come from football backgrounds with Goochland, and Usry says the unique physicality of lacrosse drew him into the new opportunity. “Although the physicality rules are different, it’s kind of the same mindset in football
and how you’re supposed to hit,” Usry said. “That physical mindset of you versus the other person translated well to lacrosse and I liked that.” While even Usry will admit he still needs to improve on his stick-handling and defensive skills, he’s quickly grown into a talented and vital part of the team’s early success, even being named a team captain. “Being a leader on the team is one of the greatest opportunities I’ve been presented with. I really do love this team,” he said. “I know it’s very unusual for someone who is not necessarily the best or they’re still developing their skills to be a team captain, but I just try to do my best to have a relationship with everybody on the team and try my best
to take criticism from people.” The Bulldogs have also found a true star in the goalscoring department with junior Adger Cardani, who is averaging four goals per game and Leynes says is a top-tier, varsity-level talent. Leynes also credits Cardani as a humble leader the team has rallied behind over the course of the season. While Goochland’s success has been a welcome surprise to all involved with the program, Leynes says the hardest obstacle is yet to come. When the Bulldogs elevate from the JV level to varsity next season, the teams of the Jefferson District won’t go easy on the new kids. That hasn’t stopped this group before though, and
with wins against respectable programs like Monticello, Mechanicsville and Charlottesville, this scrappy and rising young group has sky-high ambitions of competing with the best of the best in the district once they reach the next level. “I really hope that Goochland lacrosse can grow and that we one day will have a chance of being in that top spot at the varsity level,” Craddock said. With a coach that cares passionately about teaching the game the right way, and a team of 24 kids that have consistently given it their all, it doesn’t seem far-fetched to think that these trailblazing Bulldogs have what it takes to reach those heights.
