athletics - Our Lady of Good Counsel High School

Page 8 December 15, 2009 ENTERTAINMENTENTERTAINMENTMiley’s Wonder WorldHannah Montanahas certainlyBy Leigh Emig,Staff Writergrown up. MileyCyrus’s WonderWorld Tour has taken her from kiddyidol to pop star. Still kid friendly, butwith a more grown-up sound, Miley isdefinitely becoming a star in her ownright. On November 3, 2009 MileyCyrus’s sold-out tour, Wonder World,landed at D.C. at the Verizon Centerwith her brother’s band Metro Station.It’s been over a year since she wrappedup her Best of Both Worlds Tour. Mileyhad a lot of new songs and experiences toshare with her audience. She just releaseda new EP “The Time of Our Lives” andhas a new clothing line with Max Azriawhich is incorporated into the show. Unlikeher previous tour, there is no blondewig. This show was completely Miley,with an exception of two Hannah Montanasongs performed without the wig.Miley recruited her brother’s bandMetro Station for her opening act. MetroStation got the crowd excited andengaged, but their performance of thesongs did not sound as good as the recordings.Overall, Metro Station was agreat opening act which made the audienceeven more excited for Miley.Then it was time for Miley herself to takethe stage. As excitement built, images of aspaceship and a timer counting down toMiley’s appearance increased the crowds’excitement. As the song “Breakout” began,Miley burst out of what appeared tobe a large crystal or glacier. With more“earthy” themes throughout the show(including dancers dressed like frogs),Miley rocked out to her hits “7 Things,”“Party in the U.S.A.,” and “The Climb.”Although this was her breakout tour,Megan Payne,In the openingchapter ofManaging Editor“The LovelyBones”, SusieSalmon, the narrator, is raped, has herthroat slit, and body dismembered.The author, Alice Sebold, wrotethe novel based on her own experienceof being raped during her freshmanyear in college. This national bestsellingbook will become limited release onDecember 11, 2009 in the United Statesand is out worldwide Christmas Day.Alice Sebold wrote “Lucky” which is herstory from being raped. When she foundout that her rapist killed his previousvictim, she decided to write “The LovelyBones” inspired by the fact she was alive.On December 6, 1973 in Norristown,P.A., Susie Salmon takes ashortcut through the cornfield by herhouse to go home from school. Beinga 14 year old girl, she had no idea thather neighbor, George Harvey, meanther harm when he stops her to talk.The investigation into her death seemsMiley still satisfied the hunger of theyounger fans for a few Hannah Montanasongs. She performed four songsfrom “The Hannah Montana Movie”:“Spotlight” and “The Climb,” whichwas performed in her encore. Thiswas a good way to keep her youngeraudience as well as draw in an oldercrowd from her new songs. Mileyalso performed a duet with herbrother Trace called “Hovering.” Itwas nice that she incorporated herbrother into her main performanceand showed her strong love of family.Halfway through the show Mileyshowed the trailer for her new movie“The Last Song,” based on the bookby Nicholas Sparks. She explainedthat she filmed it this past summer,saying she matured a lot from this experience.Afterwards she performeda song from the movie called “WhenI Look at You,” really showing off hervoice and creating a more adult sound.Miley put on an entertaining showand gave the fans what they camefor. She offered them classics as wellas a taste of what’s to come. Elaboratedance moves and stage settingscontributed to the excitement inthe air. She showed her class by havinga tribute to Michael Jackson inwhich she danced to “Thriller” afterher performance of “Fly on theWall.” Miley Cyrus has grown up alot and through her Wonder WorldTour showed that to the world.“Lovely” Read Coming toA Theater Near You to lead nowhere even after the policefind her winter hat and part of her dismemberedelbow. Susie narrates thestory from her personal idea of heavenwhere she watches her family struggleover her death. She also sees her murderercover his tracks by leaving town.Susie says, “In my heaven I canmake a bonfire in the classroomsor run up and down the halls yellingas loud as I want. But it doesn’talways look like that. It looks likeanything you’ve ever dreamed.”The novel is suspenseful and provokingfrom the beginning. If the movieis anything like the book it shouldbe a success and worth watching.There is a great cast with awarding winningactors. The movie was directedby Peter Jackson and stars SaoirseRonan (Susie Salmon), Mark Wahlberg( Jack Salmon, Susie’s father), andRachel Weisz (Abigail Salmon, Susie’smother). Though not a movie full ofChristmas cheers it is still worth seeing.The TalonPhoto coutnsey of Google Images, free domain.2010:What’s AheadBy Leigh EmigStaff Writer010. The startof a new yearand a new decade.The firstdecade of the new millenniumcreated many hits and classics. Willthis next decade do the same?The year of 2010 seemsbright in the realm of movies withcontinuations of already top boxoffice grossing series. 2010 bringsus more in both the “Twilight” and“Harry Potter” series. Super heromovies are coming such as “IronMan 2,” “Jonah Hex” with MeganFox, “Tron Legacy” and “TheGreen Hornet”. Other sure-to-behits include new romances like“Dear John,” “Letters to Juliet,”and “The Last Song” starring MileyCyrus, and romantic comedies suchas “When in Rome” with KristenBell.This is It!“This is it,”By Tara Johnson says MichaelOpinion Editor Jackson to acrowd of adoringfans. “This is really it.”Last spring, Jackson, a crew of dancers,back-up singers and musicians,as well as, other affiliates gatheredto perform one last tour for the fansaround England. Due to the death ofJackson on June 25, 2009 the tour wasprevented from becoming a reality.In order to pay tribute toMichael’s legacy as a greatperformer, a documentarywas made to highlightJackson’s plans forthe tour. The documentarycompiled multipleinterviews from Michael’sperformers and crew, aswell as, vital elements tothe tour including visualaids sound board designand wardrobe. “This is It”demonstrated Michael’sdesire for excellence.If “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” isnot enough for Twilight fans thenthey can catch Robert Pattinsonin “Remember Me” and TaylorLautner in “Valentine’s Day”with rumored girlfriend TaylorSwift as well as an all-star castincluding Anne Hathaway andJulia Roberts.“Toy Story 3” and “ShrekForever After” bring back memoriesof our childhood. Anothermodern-spinoff will be TimBurton’s “Alice in Wonderland”shows the classic in a new wayand is sure to be a favorite. Disneyalso brings more action in“Prince of Persia: The Sands ofTime” which like “Pirates of theCaribbean” will have a PG-13rating. VanessaHudgens is set tostar in “Beastly,” a modern retellingof “Beauty and the Beast.”Disney’s 50th animated movie,“Rapunzel,” will be released nextNovember with Mandy Moore inthe lead role.Other likely hits include“The Wolfman,” “Clash of theTitans,” “Date Night” withSteve Carell and Tina Fey, anda remake of “Footloose” with“Gossip Girl’s” Chase Crawford.More horror movie remakes andcontinuations are also coming:“Piranha 3-D,” “A Nightmareon Elm Street,” “Friday the 13thPart 2,” “The Roommate,” “SawVII” and “Scream 4.”As 2009draws to a close, we have manythings to look forward to in 2010.With so many things on thehorizon, the only question left is:What to watch first?“Michael’s a perfectionist,” AlexAl the bassist for Michael’s tour says.Popular songs such as “SmoothCriminal” and “Thriller” were previouslyfilmed and edited to be shownon a large screen during the tour performances.The wardrobe designersworked closely with scientists,Swarovski crystal and others to captureMichael’s look for his costumes.The documentary gave the audiencea visual perspective of how muchMichael cared about giving back tothe world through his performance.“We have to bringlove back into theworld,” says Michael.The tour wasplanned to be anexciting finale thatwould seal Michael’smusical career. Hewill be kept in theminds and heartsof many and willalways be rememberedfor the musicallegend that he was.

ENTERTAINMENT December 15, 2009 Page 9ENTERTAINMENTAnother WinningProduction!By Becca Shipler This year, theStudent Life Editor fall productionat GoodCounsel was “Charley’s Aunt,” writtenby Brandon Thomas during the late1800s. In this play, two Oxford undergraduates,Charley Wykeham and JackSpettigue, want to entertain Amy Spettigueand Kitty Verdun. They do this byinviting them to lunch to meet Charley’saunt, Donna Lucia d’Alvadorez,a rich widow from Brazil. But whenCharley’s aunt is unexpectedly delayed,Jack and Charlie convince their friend,Lord Fancourt Babberly, to impersonateher. This results in a witty and hilariouscomedy, which has entertainedaudiences for over a century. The productionwas showcased between October30, 2009-November 8, 2009.Mr. Hilary Rinke, who directed theschool’s production of “Charley’s Aunt”,has directed the plays at Good Counselfor six years. Mr. Rinke is also head ofthe Visual Arts program at Good Counsel.When asked why he chose thisparticular play for the fall production,he said that he wanted to do a comedy.Good Counsel has produced a numberof excellent productions since 1964,when the theater productions first began.This play was one that both Mr. Rinkeand the school had not done before.The play was produced by Ms.Rosemary Slocum and Mr. GordonAnson, along with associate producerMs. Vicki Sussman. Anson is the chieflighting designer at the National Galleryof Art. He is a professional mentorin the theater program at Good Counsel,providing invaluable experienceand help to students. Slocum is also inthe professional mentoring programin the costume design department.Imagine yourselfat a free venuewith live music,and a bunch ofcoffee. What could be better? OakdaleEmory United Methodist Church putson a coffeehouse once every monthin “The Refuge,” a newly renovated,trendy spacious room in the historicChapel of the church. This traditionhas been bringing high school aged kidsto Oakdale once a month for roughlyaround 4 years. The youth pastor, AllisonSarracino and a team of youth leaderswanted something that could reachout to high school students.“They have ownership in it becausethey have their own bandsplay and people love to seefree live music,” Sarracino says.The mentors help students run the showand learn about the technical aspects ofproducing a show. When a student isassigned a role such as assistant director,costume designer or set designer,they are given a mentor who has expertisein that particular area of theatre.The professional mentoring programat Good Counsel provides studentswith an experience that enables themto create theater at an elevated level.Even though the school produced anexcellent show, the lack of a GoodCounsel auditorium is still a significantissue. The “Finishing the Dream” campaignhas attempted to raise moneyover the past three years so that GoodCounsel can finally build the auditoriumthat will complete the ideal campus.This auditorium would be usedfor drama and musical performances,as well as for large community for theschool; so far, the campaign has raisedclose to $1 million, but $3 million isneeded to complete the auditorium.Mr. Rinke’s favorite part of theshow was seeing “the final product finished.”It is no wonder this was Mr. Rinke’sfavorite part because the final productdid indeed have very positive results.Rinke said, “It was an excellentshow. The kids did a great job andthe audience liked it.” The audiencecertainly did like it, seeing as theylaughed throughout the entire show.Chancellor Agard, senior, hasbeen a part of the theater program allthroughout his high school experience.“It was a great experience,” hesays. “All of the students working onthe show were a joy to work with. Bythe end of the show, we weren’t only acompany, but a community; workingtogether to produce an awesome show.”There are many talented individuals inboth the cast and the technical crew. Aftermuch practice and hard work, theyproduced an extremely successful show.Olney Coffehouse ReviewBy Tara JohnsonOpinion Editor“This event began with a small crowd ofabout 12 people, but it now attracts anaverage of 150 people or more. Manyof the teens come from schools in thesurrounding areas including GoodCounsel, Sherwood, and Magruder.This month Oakdale put on a coffeehouseon Friday December 4,2009. The band line-up includedgenres from alternative to death metalto acoustic and hip-hop. There wereperformances from local studentbands, Danny & Caitlyn, HAM, HydraKyll, New Agenda, Andy Nekrich,R.A.K., and the Tyronz. The first actwas a duo performance by Danny &Caitlyn singing a cover of MGMT’Shit song, “Kids” and a few others.Ron Pendleton, the lead drummerfor the band, R.A.K. has beenattending Oakdale and been affili-The TalonRewind that back!Theater recap!By Shaun MedinaOur LadyAdvertising Managerof GoodC o u n s e lHigh School’s fall theater productionof “Charlie’s Aunt,” was a comedy thatshows that instances that made peoplelaugh in the nineteenth century are stillfunny now. It was showcased at the OlneyTheater from October 30-November1 and November 6-November 8.“Charlie’s Aunt” was a playwritten around 1890 by BrandonThomas in England. It was written inthe style of farce, which uses fast-pacedtalking and a fast-paced plot, as well aspuns, innuendos and physical humor.Chase scenes and falls also add to this.The play is about two men,Charley Wykeham and Jack Chesney,who are each in love with other women,Amy Spettigue and Kitty Verdun.They plan a date, but need a chaperone,so Charley volunteers his aunt.Charlie’s aunt is a millionaire widowwho is coming to visit Charliefrom Brazil but they have never seeneach other before. Jack and Charlieconsult their friend Fancourt Babberlyto ask if he can entertain Charlie’saunt while Jack and Charlie areon their dates. Fancourt agrees to it.When the two girls arrive,Charlie’s aunt still hasn’t come, so theated with Coffeehouse from the start.“The feeling of playing in front of acrowd is like any other. The rush is incredible,”he says. The traditionof coffeehouse live on at Oakdale as itcontinually reaches out to teens in ourarea. Diana Schneider, a lay leader for theyouth at Oakdale has been volunteeringat the coffeehouse for over 3 years.“Sometimes kids show up to heartheir friends play and then leave.When we have a new band then weusually get a lot of parents and relativescome to watch. We have a handfulof bands that perform on a regularbasis that have a following. Weattempt to hold Coffee House on anevening when the date does not conflictwith area high school activities.”Whether it be to perform, listento live music or even for the freegirls leave and promise to return whenthe aunt is there. Jack and Charlie discoverthat Charlie’s aunt won’t be arrivingfor another few days, so they panic.Then they convince Fancourt to dressup as the aunt to chaperone the date.Eventually, things spiral out of controlwhen Jack’s father and Amy Spettigue’suncle attempt to woo Charlie’saunt for her money. Later, Charlie’sreal aunt, Donna Lucia d’Alvadorez,arrives and pretends to be someoneelse upon discovering the she hasbeen impersonated. She brings heraccomplice Ela Delahay. Donna Luciaand Jack’s father meet and realizethat they had known each other manyyears before. They begin to fall in love.Amy’s uncle is the guardian toKitty and Amy and is very stubborn.Amy and Kitty ask Fancourt to persuadeher uncle to to allow the girls toget married. Fancourt is able to get theletter but only by promising Amy’s unclethat he would marry him. All of thecharacters then gather together. This iswhen Fancourt and Donna Lucia revealtheir true identities. When the playends, the couples are all happily in love.If you enjoyed “Charlie’sAunt,” or didn’t even see it at all, youshould check out the spring musical.This school year, the production willbe “Into the Woods.” It is about fairytales,but these are not like the storiesyou read as a child. These are fairytaleswith a cynical twist, but they endup as “happily ever after” in the end.coffee, checkout the next coffeehouse,you won’t be disappointed.

Page 10 December 15, 2009 ATHLETICSATHLETICSIt’s years in the making...After losingBy Ana Nunezto DeMathaStaff Writerfor the pastfive years,all thehard work has finally paid off.Saturday November 21, 2009 at 2 pm.was the sixth meeting between the GoodCounsel Falcons and the DeMathaStags. The atmosphere at Navy-MarineCorp Memorial Stadium in Annapolis,Maryland was one of pure anticipationby the athletes, coaches and fans alike.Many were expecting the usual outcomebut this year things turned out differently.The game was earlier than they have beenin the past but that made no difference to allwho were ready to fight for the championshipcup. The Falcons were spirited andwere ready to put up an aggressive fight.Good Counsel started out really wellduring the first quarter in their missionto stop DeMatha’s star tailback, senior,Marcus Coker. The Falcons learned theirlesson back in October that Coker wasa force to be reckoned with. He is oneof the tops dogs that had to look out for.“We went into the championship with a chipon our shoulders; we remembered how theybeat us early in the season and for the pastsix years in the championship. I guess wecame out ready for anything. We were tiredof being beat and we felt like it was time fora new tradition,” said junior Patrick Walsh.This game was different in the waythat the Falcons knew they had to stepup both their offense and defense.During the first half, Good CounselQuarterback, Zach Dancel, had completedBy Stephanie LighterEditor and ChiefAs the regular season ofthe National Football League is comingclose to an end, all the WashingtonRedskins fans can do is shaketheir heads and wonder what happened.With a record of 3 and 9, itlooks as if the Redskins have becomeone of the worst teams in the league.The downfall of the WashingtonRedskins started back on October18 with a loss against the KansasChiefs that shocked fans. After theirembarrassing losses to the Detroit Lionsand Carolina Panthers, the Redskinswere in desperate need of a win.When quarterback Jason Campbellwas benched at halftime, Todd Collins,the second-string quarterback,took charge. The Redskins failed, however,to score a touchdown in the secondhalf of the game and lost 14 to 6.Many place the blame of theRedskin’s failures on the head coach,Jim Zorn. This is Zorn’s second seasonwith the Redskins. In his 2008campaign, Zorn guided the Redskinsto an average record of 8 and 8 in thehighly competitive NFC East division.As the Redskins continued to lose thisseason, Zorn’s popularity plummeted.Many also lay the blame on themost of his passes and one eventuallycame into the hands of a sophomoretailback, Wes Brown, who had a rushingtouchdown. The score became 7-0.Later on, during the second quarter,DeMatha scored a touchdown due to aGood Counsel fumble, which evenedthe score at 7-7 coming into half time.One of the “are you serious” momentswas when DeMatha kicker, juniorMichael Branthover, walked in front ofthe Poms while they were performing.The Falcons cheering section was filledwith screams of “Get off the field.”During the third quarter, the defenses weretight on both ends with barely any yardagemade by both teams. Good Counsel,senior, Louis Young, took over and tried toget some ground for a score. With GoodCounsel in possession of the ball, thefourth quarter would be a make or break.The fourth quarter is where all the hardwork that these boys had done wouldfinally pay off. A touchdown pass toYoung, a sack to a quarterback by senior,Troy Gloster, and missed opportunity bythe Stags, made all the difference in thelast minutes of the fourth quarter thatwould change the outcome of the game.As the Falcons saw the clock countdown,it still had not set in that we were goingto win. Good Counsel had actually beatDeMatha and won the WCAC FootballChampionship. When the clock ran out,tears ran down the faces of many whowere proud of this accomplishment.Senior, Randy Delgado said,“I expected it to happen, I justdidn’t know when. It was so farthe greatest moment of my life.”Is there hope for the Redskins?owner, Dan Snyder. Back in 1999, Snyderpurchased the Redskins for $800million. As of 2007, the team has becomethe second-highest grossing teamin the NFL, behind the Dallas Cowboys.SinceSnyder boughtthe Redskins,however, theteam has hada losing record.Fanshave criticizedand expressedtheir discontentthroughoutthe seasontowardsSnyder for hislack of effortin improvingthe team.Althoughthe team ismore than just the quarterback,Campbell has been taking a lotof criticism for his role in the teams’losses. The type of offensive Zorn hasis not the style that Campbell is usedto playing. With a built stature andstrong right arm, Campbell is muchThe TalonThe Good Counsel Falcons are all ready to take on DeMathaGood Counsel Varsity Football celebratingtheir win at the Championshipagainst Demathabetter throwing the ball down thefield than completing short passes.His main weakness is his inability tohold on to the ball; he has fumbled theball 30 times since the 2007 season.Injuries havealso played a majorrole in the downfall ofthe Redskins. ClintonPortis, a running backfor the WashingtonRedskins, suffered aconcussion and hadto sit out in the criticalloss against theDallas Cowboys onNovember 22. AlbertHaynesworth, adefensive tackle, alsohad to miss the gamewith an ankle injury.With their ninelosses, the Redskinsare stuck atthe bottom of theNFC East. The Dallas Cowboys leadthe division with a record of 8 and 4.Tony Romo, the starting quarterback,along with Miles Austin, a wide receiver,has pushed past the competition toa narrow lead. The Philadelphia EaglesPhoto courtesy of Google ImagesAll photos courtesy of Joe Cabigasare also at the top of the division witha 8 and 4 record. DeSean Jackson, awide receiver, is one of the main scorersfor the team with six touchdowns.The New York Giants are right behindthe Eagles with a record of 7 and 5.Eli Manning, their starting quarterback,has led his team with 20 touchdownsand 2,925 yards completed.In other NFL news, it seemsas if the New Orleans Saints and IndianapolisColts are untouchable asthey dominate their conferences. DrewBrees of the Saints and Peyton Manningof the Colts both led their teamsto terrific seasons. The PittsburghSteelers have not managed to capitalizeon their Super Bowl win from lastyear. They fell behind the CincinnatiBengals in the AFC North division.The Redskins still have fourgames left in the season. In order forthe Redskins to have a chance of savingtheir season from embarrassment,they need to put in extra workto strengthen their positives and removetheir weaknesses. Next year,the team will hopefully have a betterseason that the fans can be proud of.

ATHLETICS December 15, 2009 Page 11The TalonATHLETICSHome opener reveals a promising seasonBy Scott Chen The KaneSports Editor Center wasroaring withcheers as theGood Counsel Falcons’ Varsity basketballteam dominated the NorthwestJaguars in their first home gameof the season on Friday December 4.Due to many key plays both on offenseand defense, the Falcons were able tocrush Northwest with a 70-43 victory.The Falcons started the first quartervery aggressively, holding Northwestto only six points. Senior, Ben Hazel,scored seven of the Falcon’s thirteenpoints in the first quarter. However,the Northwest Jaguars came out strongin the second quarter outscoring theFalcons 20-13, despitethe Falcon’s senior,Devon Wright-Nelson’seight points duringthat quarter. At theend of the first half, thescore was tied 26-26.As the second halfstarted, the Falconsplayed evenmore aggressively against the Jaguars.The Falcons continued to putthe pressure on Northwest, causingthe Jaguars to commit manyturnovers during the third quarter.The Falcons were able to capitalizeon the mistakes made by Northwest,allowing them to take backthe lead with the score of 49-36at the end of the third quarter.In the fourth quarter, senior, SeanWright, made three 3-pointersduring the fourth quarter; Senior,Rodney Glasgow made some keyplays both on offense and defensewhile junior Randy Echols, hadsome big rebounds in the paint.The Falcons were able to pullaway at the end of the game, holdingNorthwest to seven pointsin the fourth quarter, and endingwith a 70-43 victory at home.The Good Counsel varsity basketballteam is off to a greatstart this season. Many believethat the team has the potentialto go all the way this year.“This year we plan to make it to thechampionship and win it,” says seniorguard Jemel Sessoms.“We’ve workedtoo hard to not comeout on top and thisyear we can do it.”With over 20 moregames left in their season,the Falcons arestill a long way fromfinished. Sessoms saysthat they need to stick to togetherwhen things get tough and battlethrough adversity in order to dowell this season; He says that theteam knows what it takes to wina championship as well as lose it.The Good Counsel Falcons showeda tremendous amount of effort onthe court that night. May they playwith the same amount of heart andintensity for the rest of the season.Cross Country has Successful RunAll photos courtesy of Cami GarofaloSenior guard Ben Hazel controls the tempo of the gameLady Falcons Take the CourtBy Lexi RunningsRelations ManagerD e d i c a t i o nis one of thetraits the CrossCountry teamknows all about. With Mr. Tom Arnoldas head coach it’s a sure thing that theywork hard. It paid off- we did amazingat the championships.The varisty boys placed2nd out of 10 teams andthe varsity girls placed4th out of 9 teams in theWCAC Championshiprace. About two weekslater, the team ran in theDC/MD Private SchoolChampionships and didextremely well. SeniorCaptains Kyle Gracesand Katherine Koenig both placedsecond in their races. The team workedreally hard with very little moral supportthat other sports get. This season theteam suffered from a lot of injuries.Even with all the injuries, the GirlsVarsity got fourth out of ninth placein the division and the Boys Varsitygot second out of ninth place.Cross country isn’t a well knowsport at this school. Going to themeet there is a new kind of energythat you don’t get at most othersporting events. Even after a teamhad gone throughthere would beparents, coaches andrunners cheering foreveryone up to thelast runner even ifthey weren’t on thesame team. Therewere runners waitingto run and thenthere were somewho just finishedwalking around with boom boxesand coaches riding on bikeskeeping track of all their runners.Compared to other schools ourteam is tiny, but the dedicationand perseverance is amazing.Everyone showed great teamwork.By Mary BeckL a s tArtwork Editoryear, theL a d yFalcons Varsity basketball team hada successful season. This may bean understatement since the teamearned theW C A CChampionshipTitleand hadtwo playerswho madethe All-GazetteGirlsBasketballFirst Team,Shanel HarrisonandKatie Sheahin,as wellas HonorableMentionSarianSnyder.The Lady Falcons have a reputationfor dominating on the court. Even afterhaving lost 5 strong seniors last year, thereis still enormous potential on the LadyFalcons team for the coming season. Willthey make it all the way to the Championshipsagain this year? If you haven’t beento a game already,try tomake it to ahome gamesoon! Catchthe LadyFalcons intheir HolidayHoops tournamentonD e c e m b e r28 and 29,or make it totheir gameagainst rivalsHoly Crosson January 8at 7:30 pm.Go Falcons!

Page 12 December 15, 2009 ATHLETICSATHLETICSFalcon Fall Athletics Soar to GreatnessTop Left: Junior Jessica Dalyat the WCAC soccer championship.Top Middle: Sophomore WesBrown pushing toward theend zone.Top Right: Junior Jeff Byrnes VarsitySoccer.Bottom Left: Good Counsel BoysCross-Country Team 2009.Middle: Sophomore Taylor Youngkicks the ball.Bottom Right: Junior MeaganDonohoe serves the ball.Photos Courtesy of Cami GarofaloCourtesy of Tom HiltonSwimming and DivingBy Nora ConsidineStaff WriterBy Scott ChenSports EditorThe GoodCounsel fall sportsteams have beennothing short ofexcellent this year.From football to volleyball to fieldhockey and even to cross country,each fall sports team displayedgreat efforts during the fall months.The Falcon’s field hockey teamdisplayed a tremendous amount ofeffort during their regular season. Theyended with a regular season record ofnine wins and four losses, and defeatedSt. Mary’s Ryken 4-0 to advance tothe Washington Catholic AthleticConference (WCAC) championshipgame on Saturday, October 31, 2009.The Lady Falcons suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss to their WCACrivals, the Holy Cross Tartans, 0-1.The Good Counsel varsity footballteam finally emerged victorious asthey defeated the DeMatha Stags inthe WCAC championships. GoodCounsel had a 9 win 1 loss recordin the regular season and advancedto the WCAC championship with a35-6 victory over Bishop McNamarain the semi-finals. A week later, theFalcons would be triumphant overthe favored DeMatha Stags with a14-7 victory snapping Dematha’srun of six straight WCAC titles.After going fourteen wins, 6 losses and2 ties last year, the varsity men’s soccerteam aimed to play just as well as they didthe year before. The men’s soccer teamplayed well in the regular season witha record of fifteen wins, 4 losses and 2ties. The Falcons were seeded second inthe WCAC going into the post-season.However, their road to victory wasstopped short when they lost to seventhseed, Paul VI, 1-2, in the quarterfinals.The varsity women’s soccer teamexceeded expectations duringtheir season, winning the WCACchampionship on November 1 againstSt. John’s, 1-0 in double overtime.They ended their regular season withtwelve wins, 2 losses, and 5 ties. TheLady Falcon’s soccer team defeatedSt. Mary’s Ryken in the quarterfinals,2-1, and beat their WCAC rivals, HolyCross, 4-1 in the semifinals, advancingthem to the finals against St. John’s.Thechampionship game was tied 0-0in double overtime when junior, JessicaDaly, scored the go ahead goal to makethe Lady Falcon’s WCAC champions.“It is an obvious great feeling thatis hard to describe,” said head coachJim Bruno. “I think of all of the hardwork our players have gone through toachieve success. As a team they workedtogether and supported each othereven when things were not going sowell. The coaches are extremely proudof the girls and very happy for them.”The Good Counsel girls’ tennis teamhad a very productive season this year aswell. Sophomore, Olivia Hogan, placedsecond in the singles championship andSenior, Nicole Webster, was the runnerup sixth seed in the singles bracket.The Good Counsel cross countryteam ran a very good season this year.Led by senior captains, Kyle Graves andKatherine Koenig, the cross countryteam placed high in all of their races.The men’s team finished second in theWCAC championship with senior,Kyle Graves, placing fourth overall. Thewomen placed fourth in the WCACchampionship. However, with theseniors gone, there has been a lot ofanticipation as to what will happennext season. “I want my teammatesto step up and push themselvesso they can win the conferencenext year,” Kyle Graves comments.The Lady Falcon’s varsity volleyballteam has shown nothing but trueexcellence. Remaining undefeated intheir conference, The Lady Falcon’sdominated Elizabeth Seton with a3-0 victory in the quarter-finals; a 3-0victory against Bishop O’Connell inthe semi-finals; and finally a 3-0 victoryover Paul VI giving the Lady Falcon’svolleyball team their fourth straightWCAC title. The Falcons also wonagainst the undefeated Mount de Sales.A very exciting start for the GoodCounsel Falcons as they captured threeWCAC titles during the fall season. Withthat in mind, there is a lot of anticipationbuilding for Falcons in the upcomingwinter sports for the falcons such asbasketball, hockey, indoor track andfield, swimming and diving and manyothers. May the upcoming sports be justas successful as the fall season sports.SWIMMING AND DIVINGS e a s o n S c h e d u l e :Monday 11/23/09- GC vs. Gonzaga andSidwell Friends @ Holton Arms 7:30pTuesday 12/8/09- GC vs.PVI @ Holton Arms 7:30pTuesday 1/5/10- GC vs.O’Connell @ St. Albans 7:30pTuesday 1/12/10- GC vs. DeMathaand Holy Child @ Holton Arms 7:30pTuesday 1/26/10- GC vs. GeorgetownPrep and Holy Cross @ Prep 4pFriday 1/29-31/10- NATIONALCATHOLICS @ Villanova University\Wednesday 2/3-6/10- WMPSSDLS(WCAC) Championships @ TBAWednesday 2/24-27/10-Metros Swimming and DivingChampionships @ TBACome support the reigningWCAC Swimming and Divingchampions! Our girls’ team has thepossibility to once again win the WCACchampionship meet, and our boys’team has grown and developed intoan awesome squad with the potentialto go far! So come on students,support your swimming falcons!The Talon