Westfield posted a 6-over-par total of 294 to take the first-round lead in the third VSGA Foundation High School Invitational golf tournament yesterday at Independence Golf Club. The Northern Virginia school has a four-stroke lead over reigning Central Region champion Deep Run. Mills Godwin, Monacan and Loudoun Valley are tied for third at 302.

+ CHANTILLY—Somewhere along the line, Mills Godwin girls soccer coach Ali Toole gave up. In her first year as coach, she decided she would get the players to follow a strict schedule during practices and warm-ups for games. But on a team of free spirits, it never quite took. “They’re just so . . . silly,“ Toole said. “I tried to get them regimented, but they resisted it.“

In his final high school tennis match, Kyle Parker fought through a pulled stomach muscle, switched shirts after sweating through the first one and survived a tension-filled tiebreaker in the second set. What he couldn’t do, however, was contain two hot streaks from Justin Shane, which the J.E.B. Stuart-Fairfax senior rode to a 6-2, 6-7 (7-3), 6-4 victory in yesterday’s state tennis championship.

The Mills Godwin boys soccer team has been wearing red uniforms for a while. The whites have been in the closet because that’s the uniform that the home team—the favorite—gets to wear. This hasn’t been a problem for the Eagles, just as it wasn’t yesterday as they defeated Hickory-Chesapeake 2-0 to advance to the state final. “I like being the underdog,“ senior Garrett Harvey said. “All these teams come in and think, ‘Oh, we can beat these guys.‘ Then we surprise them.“

Mills Godwin, boosted by a goal from Sarah Bellotti in the 51st minute, held off a furious counterattack after a lightning delay to defeat visiting Oakton-Vienna 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the VHSL Group AAA girls soccer tournament last night. Mills Godwin will face Cox of Virginia Beach, a 3-1 winner over Forest Park (Woodbridge), in the state semifinals Friday at 4 p.m. at Westfield High School in Chantilly.

The state champion Mills Godwin girls tennis team decided to wait for the boys team before taking its traditional victory plunge in the nearby James River. To earn their river dip yesterday, the Eagles boys had to beat Colonial District and Central Region rival Deep Run in the final of the Virginia High School League Group AAA team tournament at Huntington Park. The Eagles’ previous three state titles (2002, 2003 and 2005) had come against district and region rival Douglas Freeman.

Twice in one week, Michelle Akerman has been center stage in a Mills Godwin girls tennis match in the Virginia High School League Group AAA team tournament. Akerman, a junior playing her first season with the Eagles, needed three sets to provide the crucial fourth point in singles last Tuesday in a quarterfinal victory over Northern Region runner-up George Marshall.

With the humidity rising and the heat lingering, a sticky night of soccer rewarded aggressive play as Mills Godwin and Cosby punched their tickets to the state tournament. They’ll also play each other—for the first time—in tonight’s Central Region title game. Early rainstorms last night created tough conditions early. Each Eagles header made a splash in the small wading pool of sweat that the players had developed on their foreheads.

Mills Godwin’s girls soccer team will soon visit the State Group AAA tournament for the seventh time in as many years. Few of those trips have been as sweet, or as improbable, as the latest. Godwin forward Marie Krider scored off Anne Lumpkin’s corner kick with 2:00 remaining in the first sudden-death overtime to lift the Eagles to a 2-1 victory over Thomas Dale in the second of last night’s Central Region semifinals.

Patton’s early goal lifts Collegiate past Godwin in girls soccer Becky Patton scored so quickly that spectators at the Collegiate-Mills Godwin girls soccer game hardly had time to settle in their seats or get a comfortable lean against the fence. Patton plays for Collegiate, ranked No. 3 in the latest Times-Dispatch Top 10. She is a prolific scorer and was honored as the T-D girls athlete of the week for that skill.

What she did: Was the top scorer in the Pohanka Chantilly tournament at Chantilly High and was named to the all-tournament team. A 5-10 senior, Foley scored 55 points in the three games. She had 23 in the final when the Eagles (11-1) lost for the first time this season. The Eagles bounced back with a Colonial District win over Deep Run, a game in which she scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Foley leads the team in scoring and rebounding and is second in assists. Age: 17 Three words your friends would use to describe you: “Studious, funny, hard working.“ Strengths: “Communicating and shooting.“ Toughest opponent other than yourself: “My coaches. They see things in me and my teammates and push us to our potential.“ I’m working to improve: “My ballhandling, rebounding and aggressiveness on offense.“ Favorite food: Apple pie and (vanilla) ice cream. Favorite ice cream: Cookie dough Best sports memory: “Winning back-to-back district titles.“ Biggest challenge: “Finding time for schoolwork [4.65 GPA]. If she had one wish: “For our team to go as far as possible and to stay as close as we are.“ Possession you can’t do without: “My computer.“ Persons she admires most: “My parents and my siblings.“ What’s on your iPod: “A little bit of everything.“ Facebook or MySpace: Facebook One thing about you most people don’t know: “I’ve seen every episode of King of Queens.“ - Arthur Utley

It should come as no surprise to anyone who watched Calvert Hall dispatch Mills Godwin 49-34 last night in the semifinals of the Benedictine Capital City Classic that the Cardinals spend a good bit of each practice honing their defense.

Class: Senior Age: 18 GPA: 4.6 November achievements: Went 5-0 to start the season. Included was title at 140 pounds in the Hopewell Classic. Defeated wrestlers from state Group AA champion Christiansburg, James River and St. Christopher’s in the process. The semifinal match with David Wesley of St. Christopher’s went to triple overtime. Other athletic accomplishments: Three-time champion in the Colonial District; three-time state tournament participant after a first, second and third in Central Region tournament. Academic achievements: All-academic in the district and region; member of the National Honor Society and honor societies for math, art and Spanish. College plans: Undecided. Virginia, Virginia Tech, Navy and Duke top his list. Favorite subject: Physics Favorite food: “Coldstone cake batter ice cream.“ Key to sports success: “Discipline, determination and dedication.“ Key to academic success: “Discipline, determination and dedication.“ Goal in life: “Would like to wrestle in college, then be a fighter pilot in the Navy or an engineer.“ Pet peeve: “Someone who has automatic negative thoughts.“ Best sports memory: “Winning my second state championship in middle school (sixth and seventh grades). . . . Winning the Central Region (112, as a sophomore).“ If you could travel anywhere: “Australia. It looks like a great place for hiking and water activities.“ Best classroom memory: “Last year in math, I used to hide everyone’s backpack. One day, I couldn’t find mine. The teacher [Tom Hoy] paid me back and hid mine.“ Facebook or Myspace: “Neither now, but I’m getting Facebook sooner or later.“ Biggest challenge: “Handling school and [year-round] wrestling.“—Arthur Utley