Lake Braddock Girls' Soccer

Midfielder Saves Day For Lake Braddock
By B.J. Koubaroulis
Special to The Washington Post
Wednesday, April 23, 2008; E11

Before last week, Lake Braddock junior Christine Tuebner's goalkeeping résumé was very light, sporting just a few junior varsity starts.

But with the Bruins' starting goalkeeper, Caitlin Landsman, out with a club team commitment and backup Liz Morgan sidelined with an injured knee, Tuebner -- a junior midfielder -- was quickly tabbed as the most qualified goalie for last Thursday's match against Virginia AAA Patriot District rival West Springfield (7-1, 3-1).

"She was terrified, but she answered the bell," Lake Braddock Coach Adam Soos said.
Tuebner made key saves down the stretch to help Lake Braddock (5-3, 4-0) capture this season's most notable girls' soccer upset -- a 3-1 victory over then undefeated and top-ranked West Springfield.

West Springfield is an offensive juggernaut, averaging 3.5 goals per game. It has scored six or more goals in three games this season.

"I was a bit surprised, not because I didn't think we could do it, but because I wasn't sure we had done enough maturation yet to knock off a team with as much talent as West Springfield has," Soos said.

Thursday's victory was the Bruins' fourth in a row following a 1-3 start. The victory could be a sign that Lake Braddock made an early emergence from what was supposed to be a rebuilding period after losing its coach and 13 seniors -- 10 of whom are playing college soccer -- from a squad that won two straight Virginia AAA championships.

The loss of such a core group has required many of Lake Braddock's young players to take on unfamiliar roles while juniors such as Tuebner have filled in the gaps.

"I've been preaching progress by inches," Soos said, "and I think that has been important for an inexperienced group to learn that it all doesn't have to come at once."