The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-17)

TUESDAY, MAY 17 , 2022. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU D5

BY KYLE MELNICK

While searching for a high
school in 2018, Owen Diesenhaus
heard all about the Potomac
School boys’ lacrosse program.
His older brother, Josh, had
played for Georgetown Day, a
team that regularly struggled
against the Panthers, long a per-
ennial power in the Mid-Atlantic
Athletic Conference.
When Diesenhaus started at
Potomac as a freshman, the Pan-
thers had fallen from the top of
the MAC, but Diesenhaus was
driven to help revive the Pan-
thers’ tradition.
He accomplished that goal as a
senior, helping the Panthers beat
Sidwell Friends, 11-5, on Monday
night in McLean for their first
MAC title since 2017.

“I fought my hardest to get it

back,” said Diesenhaus, who

scored twice Monday. “I knew we

could do that. We have the talent.

And I wanted to prove to every-

body in the area that we are a top

team because a lot of times we get

looked down on.”

Potomac (11-8) won three con-

secutive MAC titles between 2015

and 2017 and has secured at least

a share of the league champion-

ship 19 times. But Diesenhaus

said he learned more during his

time in McLean than just the

importance of winning.

Diesenhaus began playing la-

crosse while in first grade and

long was focused on racking up

goals. At Potomac, he has forged

bonds with teammates, and the

result was a title.

“For most of my career, I was in

my head, and I really struggled

mentally to play my game,” said

Diesenhaus, who plans to play

club lacrosse for Wisconsin next

year. “This year and last year are

kind of the first years that I’ve

ever been able to play outside of

my head because of the commu-

nity as a team.”

Last year, the team read “The

Hard Hat,” a book exploring the

character of Cornell player

George Boiardi, who died after

an in-game injury in 2004. Boiar-

di wore No. 21, which Potomac

awarded Diesenhaus this season

as the team’s leader.

Diesenhaus scored his second

goal in the final seconds of the

third quarter against Sidwell

(9-9) to push the Panthers’ lead to

9-3. Not long after, coaches were

spraying sparkling cider on the

players as they posed for photos

with the championship banner.

“It’s good to kind of start that

tradition again,” senior midfield-

er Noah Yanowitch said. “I’ll

come back in a couple years, and

in the rafters we’ll see the 2022

[banner] and see the ones —

hopefully — in the next couple

years.”

MAC BOYS’ LACROSSE FINAL

Panthers secure first title since 2017

POTOMAC SCHOOL 11,

SIDWELL FRIENDS 5

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Coach Bryan Lanham advises

his Watkins Mill goalkeepers to

jog from the goal until an oppo-

nent defends them, so when Oscar

Lemus saw open field at Damas-

cus on Wednesday, he continued

jogging.

By the time Lemus reached

midfield, Watkins Mill players and

coaches processed what was

transpiring. Damascus was giving

Lemus, whom Lanham said is au-

tistic, a chance to score in his final

game. Lemus scored moments lat-

er as both teams’ players sur-

rounded him near the top of the

crease.

“He had the biggest smile on his

face through the entire bus ride

home,” Lanham said. “It was so

important for him. He was just so

happy. It was just radiating out of

him.”

In the final minutes of almost

every game, Lanham puts Lemus

in goal. Most opponents pass until

the game clock expires.

On Wednesday, Damascus was

ahead 19-0 in the last five minutes

of a first-round playoff game when

Lanham told the referees and Hor-

nets coaches that Lemus was en-

tering. Damascus coaches and

players decided that they would

allow Lemus to score — an act

Lanham never expected.

“You would think that at the

end of your season, losing a playoff

game, you’re going to be sad and

quiet,” said Lanham, whose squad

finished 1-12. “Everyone was

laughing, having a great time with

Oscar. He was talking about it with

everyone. He was the king of the

moment.”

— Kyle Melnick

Soccer

At 12-0-4, Osbourn enters the

postseason in elite company as

one of the few undefeated teams

remaining in Northern Virginia.

Asked to describe what the Ea-

gles have done particularly well,

Coach Brandon Calandra said it’s

hard to define. It changes from

game to game. The Eagles’ biggest

strength might be their ability to

adapt, something the coach said

stems from the right pregame

mind-set.

“We’ve been consistent as far as

our effort and the mental state in

which we enter a game,” Calandra

said. “Soccer can be different from

other sports, where if you’re not

mentally prepared, you won’t

come ready to play.”

The team was confronted with a

midseason test of that mind-set

when it played four draws in a row.

“That was our mini slump,”

C alandra said. “We went through a

phase where we just couldn’t fin-

ish for whatever reason.”

The coach asked his team to

play as though the season was on

the line, even if its record was still

in fine shape.

“I told them it was time to play

like this could be our last game,”

Calandra said. “Now we’re a little

more urgent when it comes to

getting out there.”

Osbourn has won six straight

since that stretch and enters the

Cedar Run District tournament as

the top seed.

— Michael Errigo

Golf

Landon and St. Albans battled

in a nine-hole playoff Saturday to

determine which team would ac-

company Georgetown Prep to rep-

resent the Interstate Athletic Con-

ference at the Metro champion-

ships.

Landon won, 1 91-196, and will

return to Worthington Manor in

Urbana on Tuesday to compete

against the Little Hoyas, Gonzaga

and Paul VI.

On the first hole Saturday,

Bears junior John Bates nearly

followed up his tee shot with an

eagle; his approach from the fair-

way hit the bottom of the flagstick

and circled the cup before coming

out. Bates knocked in the two-foot

birdie putt and played well over

the next eight holes to finish at

even-par 36.

“John was just solid all day

long,” Coach Andy Luther said.

Charlie Bundy and Charlie

Lynn were close behind their

teammate, both shooting 1-over

37. Grant Lester of St. Albans led
    all players at 1-under 35.
    — Hayley Salvatore

Baseball

For Old Mill, carrying a 1-0 lead

into the third inning Saturday

against Arundel felt all too famil-

iar. Just five days earlier, the Patri-

ots led by the same score against

the same team before being devas-

tated by a nine-run inning.

Now, in the region semifinals,

the Patriots started to crumble

again against the top-seeded

Wildcats. But after losing the lead,

Old Mill used clutch hitting to

force extra innings, and leadoff

man Caelan Witcher started a ral-

ly in the ninth to help the Patriots

prevail, 6-4.

“You could play that game 100

times and it comes out 50 and 50,”

Patriots Coach Charlie Chaffin

said.

Old Mill (8-11) has had an un-

usual year, hindered by defensive

inconsistency in the infield as the

team has searched for its best line-

up. Chaffin has told his players all

along that the regular season was

the time for them to work out their

issues in preparation for the post-

season.

Now that the playoffs are upon

the Patriots, they are not looking

to stop. Next up for the 2019 Mary-

land 4A champions is a matchup

with North County (15-6) on Tues-

day for a spot in the state quarter-

finals.

— Jacob Richman

Tennis

Though they were swept in Sat-

urday’s Mid-Atlantic Athletic Con-

ference final, the Potomac School

Panthers are eager to revive their

rivalry with Sidwell Friends.

The conference has been a tug-

of-war between the teams for

years, and the Panthers are opti-

mistic their young talent will help

them contend again next year.

“The results didn’t go our way,

but I thought the whole team

showed a lot of poise and a lot of

guts to just be out there and fight,”

Potomac sophomore Eli Butler

said.

Butler, who lost his No. 3 singles

match against Demetrios Bez-

ianis, 6-3, 6-3, will try to rebound

at this week’s Virginia Independ-

ent Schools Athletic Association

tournament. Potomac will be up

against a different group of teams,

and Butler believes playing

Sidwell will only help the Pan-

thers.

“Going through the MAC tour-

nament is a great preparation for

tough matches,” Butler said.

The VISAA tournament finals

are scheduled for Saturday. Poto-

mac will aim for its fourth straight

title.

— Aaron Credeur

BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL NOTES

Late goal in rout is far from pointless

JULIA NIKHINSON FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

A fter Monday’s win, Potomac School has claimed at least a share of the MAC championship 19 times.

both Saturday sessions.

There’s no excuse for

Mickelson (and Greg Norman)

deciding to throw in financially

with Saudi Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman, but the

comments he made to Shipnuck

about the Saudi venture and bin

Salman in November are

damaging him most now.

Mickelson admitted that bin

Salman was a murderer and that

his country’s treatment of gay

citizens was inexcusable but then

said he was willing to engage with

the Saudis because he saw it as a

way to reshape the PGA Tour. In

truth, it was — and might still be

— a way to make a lot of money.

Mickelson then made it worse

with an “apology” in which he

tried to claim the comments were

off the record and also said he had

been quoted out of context. I

know Mickelson and Shipnuck;

Mickelson doesn’t go off the

record, and Shipnuck is an

outstanding reporter. And “out of

context” — in any context —

means “Yeah, I said it, but I don’t

want to take responsibility for it.”

Mickelson hasn’t played

anywhere since an event in,

surprise, Saudi Arabia in

February. He skipped the

Masters, where he is a three-time

champion. He once said to me,

“Every time I drive down

Magnolia Lane, I feel as if I’m a

golfer born all over again.”

And yet he never drove down

Magnolia Lane in April.

And now he won’t be at

Southern Hills this week to play

in the PGA Championship, an

event he won a year ago,

becoming the oldest man in

history to capture a major title.

His triumphant march up the

18th fairway at Kiawah Island

with thousands screaming for

him was one of those moments

that gives you chills and reminds

you why sports are worth our

time and passion.

He’s absent, and no one knows

when he’ll come back or what it

will be like for him when he

returns. Thousands will still

cheer him — the way they cheered

Woods when he came back after

the scandals that ended his

marriage — because sports fans

forgive their heroes for just about

anything.

But Mickelson’s legacy will

never be the same. And that’s very

sad.

said: “This is like a long story, you

know, that culminates in me

getting defaulted at a big

tournament.... I guess it was

bound to happen.”

Mickelson was also very funny

at times. When he was tied for the

lead after 54 holes at the 2004

Masters, someone asked him how

it felt knowing that Tiger Woods,

his No. 1 tormentor, was back in

the pack, trailing by nine shots.

Rather than give the patented “I

just play against the golf course”

cliche, Mickelson shrugged and

said, “It doesn’t suck.”

The next day he overcame

Ernie Els’s three-stroke lead on

the back nine and won his first

major with an 18-foot birdie putt

on the 18th green that led to one

of the great non-jumps in sports

history. Even if you aren’t a golf

fan, you’ve probably seen the putt

and Mickelson’s earthbound leap.

Mickelson’s honesty frequently

got him in trouble. When he

whined about California’s income

taxes in 2013 and threatened to

move out of the state, he was

roasted when it was pointed out

that his career earnings had been

about $70 million. He apologized,

saying he shouldn’t have said

anything about the tax issue.

I later sat down with Mickelson

to talk with him for the book I was

writing on the Ryder Cup. Before

I could start asking questions,

Mickelson said: “You know, I

want to clear one thing up with

you: I’m not a right-winger on

most subjects. I’m liberal on

social issues.... I’m just

conservative when it comes to

fiscal issues.”

I nodded and said, “But you’ll

admit money is always your

number one issue, right?”

He shook his head and said,

“Oh, no, money is number one,

number two, number three,

number four and number five.” I

appreciated his honesty.

There have been other

controversies, including his

involvement with a big-time

gambler that entangled him in an

insider-trading investigation by

the Securities and Exchange

Commission. There was also his

criticism of Ryder Cup captain

Tom Watson after the U.S. got

blasted by Europe in 2014 at

Gleneagles. The Americans got

outplayed that weekend — badly.

Mickelson was angry because

Watson kept him on the bench for

You would be right on all
counts. But as someone who has
known Mickelson for almost 30
years, one word comes to mind
following all that has happened in
recent months: sad.
The whole thing is sad, because
Mickelson, 51, has been a truly
great player: six major
championships, 45 victories on
the PGA Tour, a Hall of Famer
when he was 41. He played on 12
straight Ryder Cup teams and,
until a couple of months ago, was
a lock to captain the U.S. team at
Bethpage Black in 2025.
The numbers are tremendous,
but they don’t begin to tell
Mickelson’s complicated story.
Put simply, the guy has been great
for golf.
He has always been fun to
watch, with his Arnold Palmer go-
for-broke style that has both
made him — coming from three
behind on the back nine at the
2004 Masters — and broken him,
as in his meltdown on the 18th
hole during the 2006 U.S. Open at
Winged Foot.
Beyond that, the only golfer in
history who has come close to
signing as many autographs as
Mickelson is Palmer. Every day at
the golf course, regardless of how
he played, Mickelson blocked off
45 minutes to sign autographs. I
often watched him interact with
fans as he did so — listening,
laughing, responding, making
them feel as if they mattered.
“He just signs [autographs] to
help his image and his
marketing” was an argument I
heard countless times.
My answer was always the
same: “Maybe so, but do you
think the 10-year-old kid going
home with his autograph cares
why he signed?”
Most of the time, Mickelson
was also a joy for us in the media
to work with. He had his
occasional walk-offs after bad
rounds, but they were infrequent.
After his awful double bogey that
cost him that U.S. Open in 2006,
he not only spoke to the media
but said this: “I’m such an idiot.”
Go ahead and give me the list
of athletes who have been that
candid after a disaster. I’ve got
one: John McEnroe, who came
into the interview room at the
Australian Open in 1990 after
being defaulted mid-match and

FEINSTEIN FROM D1

JOHN FEINSTEIN

Mickelson’s dismal descent is simply sad
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