The Atoms field hockey team played the W.T. Woodson Cavaliers on Oct. 13 at home and ended with a tough loss of 2-1 with the lone goal coming from junior Adrienne Williams.

This was the last game of their regular season which put the team in fourth place going into the district tournament.

“I was really upset that we lost our last home game and on senior night but I was really proud of the team because we competed and played as hard as we could,” said sophomore Kim Rowland.

Following their loss, the Atoms went on to play the Lake Braddock Bruins in their first game of the Patriot District Tournament. After being neck and neck the entire game, the Atoms were able to score two goals to tie the game at 2 with goals from senior Kelly O’Brien and junior Alley Adcock.

As the seconds on the clock ran out, a corner was called and, as the Atoms lined up on the baseline to rush the Bruins at the top of the circle, a Bruin attacker got hold of the ball and served the ball into the circle. Senior Kellie Del Signore stopped the ball and cleared it but before leaving the circle, the ball was stopped by an attacker and shot directly into the goal.

“Having them score with no time left was bad, but everyone gave it their all and I’m really proud of the team,” said Rowland.

Although this ended the 2009 season, the seniors are still very proud of the team’s accomplishments and the underclassmen are looking forward to next season with a positive outlook on improving on the mistakes of this season. The Atoms are graduating four players this year, Maggie Bermingham, Caroline England, Kellie Del Signore, and Kelly O’Brien, in addition to manager Ellie Holcombe.

“I am very happy with this year’s team and I know that next year they will be able to go farther than we did this year, even though we didn’t do as well as we wanted to this season everyone improved so much and worked hard in every game and practice,” said senior captain Maggie Bermingham.

In preparation for next year’s season the Atoms will participate in winter and summer leagues to keep up their skills and conditioning.

Visit www.annandaleatoms.com for more information regarding AHS sports.