Just three weeks before his team’s season-opening boys lacrosse game against Langley on March 16, Chantilly senior Nick Messinger had surgery on both of his legs.
The timing wasn’t the greatest, but from his vantage point on the sidelines, Messinger, a three-year starter, witnessed something that had been all too rare: The Chargers playing competitively against one of the Northern Region’s best teams.
Chantilly lost, 8-4, that night to Langley, last year’s region runner-up. But the days of not taking the Chargers seriously were clearly over.
Chantilly has also held its own in losses to area powers W.T. Woodson (4-2) and Westfield (7-1) and still has games remaining against Robinson (2-4) and Oakton (3-3), the three-time defending region champ. Chantilly was outscored, 72-13, in games involving those five teams last season. But it lost just 8-4 to Woodson and 10-4 to Westfield. The Chargers were 4-3 overall, 2-1 in the district, entering last night’s game at Fairfax (1-5).
“It’s been a huge change for us. I think we won three times total my freshman year,” said Messinger, who will play lacrosse at St. John’s (N.Y.) next year. “Everyone feels like we’re right on the brink of winning one of these games against the best teams.”
