Despite New Faces, Heritage Ready To Win in 07'
The Heritage boys lacrosse team lost seven starting seniors a year ago to graduation but the Pride are optimistic of their chances to have a successful season in 2007.
The only two returning starters, in fact, from last season's Pride team that finished third in the Dulles District, are junior goalie Tyler Barton and junior attack Dean Stambules. The Pride, which went 8-5 overall and 6-2 in the district en route to its best season since the school opened for the 2002-03 school year, had its first winning overall and district marks and won its first-ever postseason game last spring.
However, 60 percent of the scoring from that team is gone after the graduation of its seniors, which puts pressure on players such as Stambules to help fill the offensive void this spring.
Stambules is the only player on this season's team that has started since his freshman season, when his family moved to Leesburg from Vienna. "I love playing at Heritage, I love playing with Coach Choppy [Jason Burke], we have great team camaraderie, and we work very well together," Stambules said.
Stambules started playing lacrosse in the fourth grade for Chantilly Youth Lacrosse. He began as a midfielder, but eventually switched to long pole defense. By seventh grade, he found his calling on the attack, and has played there ever since. With his explosive first step, quick agile moves and a fast smooth shot, attack was the right choice for him. "It's good [having Stambules at attack], because a majority of the time the ball is down on the other side of the field," Barton said. "So it takes a lot of pressure off of me."
"Dean is very selfless, hardworking, intelligent, coach-able, and an all-around good kid," Burke said.
Added Barton, his teammate of three years: "He is a great ball-handler, runs the offense purely, and settles us when we work to fast."
Stambules has increasingly taken a leadership role over the past two seasons to lead Heritage. "He is such a good player that everybody follows what he does," Barton said.
At the beginning of the 2007 spring season, Stambules ranked near the top of both single-season and career school marks for many offensive categories at Heritage. He is currently first in goals scored in a season (28), assists in a season (17), career assists (24), points in a season (45), and career points (58). He is also near the top in every other offensive category at Heritage. All this in only two years on the varsity.
Stambules does not care about individual success when it comes to lacrosse. He would rather see the team as a whole succeed. When asked about his goals for the upcoming season he said, "As long as the team performs well, I am good with that." With a team built around nine juniors, there is no reason that Heritage should not be highly competitive for the next couple of years.
Stambules is not just good on the field; he is also a great person to be around. His friends love him and he is always in the mood to have fun. He is currently an assistant coach for a Western Loudoun Lacrosse youth team, and his cumulative grade point average is a 3.5. With those grades off the field, and his abilities on it, Burke said Stambules has a great chance to play at the next level when his prep days have ended.
"I think so, there is always a potential for somebody playing at the High School level to find a school that fits them to play," the coach said.
