The AHS boys lacrosse team is one step closer to achieving their goal of winning a state championship. After defeating two time state champion Langley HS last night, the Atoms will not only advance to the regional finals, but also to the quarter finals of the Virginia state tournament.“It was amazing to beat the two time state champs, the game was just awesome,” senior captain Bob Stevens said.

The Atoms started off strong with their first four goals coming from senior captain Nathan Miller. “It was great to be able to come out strong from the beginning and dictate the rest of the game,” Miller said.

Miller scored his fourth goal off a face off win from senior defender Andy Craig to make the score 4-1 towards the end of the first quarter. “I didn’t get the possession off every face off but my teammates were there backing me up which helped us get the ball almost every time,” Craig said.

In the last seconds of the first quarter, sophomore Zack Lalande was able to stabilize the lead at 5-1 after a pass from brother Nick, which was followed by another goal from Miller. The last goal of the quarter came from Stevens with three seconds left on a shot from almost the midfield line. “We came out really strong in the first quarter and defense played really well the rest of the game to get the win,” senior Stephen Craig said.

As the game went on the Atoms continued to dominate the scoreboard as senior Stephen Craig was able to secure his first goal of the game with 58 seconds left in the second quarter to make the score 8-4. Late in the third quarter senior Peter Hagen advanced the ball up the field and was also able to secure his first goal of the game to make the score 9-6.

Again, Miller was able to split the defense to score his sixth goal of the game at the end of the third quarter. Junior Ryan Miller also scored a goal early in the fourth quarter to make the score 11-7 and senior Nick Lalande capitalized on an empty net at the end of the game to secure the win and end the game with a score of 12-8.

The Atoms will play in the regional final against the Chantilly Chargers on May 26 at Robinson HS and again on June 4 in the quarterfinals of the Virginia state tournament.