SALEM, Va. – After taking down the three-time defending state lacrosse champion Atlee, the Salem Spartans are hard at work preparing for their first ever state championship appearance.
The program was on practice field Thursday morning fine tuning all the things that has led them to a 16-3 record thus far. This dynamic player-led team can be explosive on offense--scoring can come from just about any one. From Jackson Jones to Holden Custer to Brayden Hall and others--opponents truly have to pick their poison.
Equally as impressive as the offense is Salem’s defense. The best way it can be described is tougher than a $2 steak. Helping lead that stifling charge has been junior goalie Richard Hof.
“I can’t do it without my defense,” Hof said when asked about his efforts this season. “They force them into the shots that I want to be seeing, like these far out shots or these low angle shots. I can’t do what I do without them.”
“Richard’s done a fantastic job for us,” said Salem head coach George Revercomb. “This is his second year as a starter. He’s a junior this year, and he’s committed to Barton and he’s the anchor in cage for us. He’s communicating slide packages, he’s on the clear, he’s kind of the quarterback of the defense on that side. Our defense has been so dominant all year long. They don’t get enough credit. I mean, this team is really dynamic on offense. But really, I think we’re a defense-led first team. We’ve held all sorts of teams to season lows, really talented teams. I think we just have a really rock-solid blue-collar defense.”
Salem will be relying on that steady defense on Saturday morning when it plays Loudoun County for the VHSL Class 4 State Championship.
The Captains tout one of the best attackers in Michael Richardson.
But the senior-laden Spartans are bound to be ready for whatever challenge comes at 10 a.m. Saturday in Charlottesville.
On the girls side of Class 4, Rockbridge County will make its second consecutive state final appearance against Western Albemarle.