The rain really only began to pick up in earnest about midway through the fourth quarter Monday night in Manassas.

But by that time, Liberty was already drenched.

Goals by host-team Stonewall Jackson (5-1 overall, 1-1 Cedar Run District) poured in at an alarmingly quick rate. Some went in by accident, some with a little luck and one went in with a little behind-the-back, no-look, over-the-shoulder zazz that managed to electrify the crowd even at the end of a 19-0 blowout.

"They never stopped moving. They kept their feet moving the entire time. I didn't see them stop even once," said Eagles attack Adam Cooper.

Despite trailing 4-0 at the end of the first quarter, Liberty (0-5, 0-3) found itself still in the game as the goal disadvantage. Stonewall sophomore attack Nick Betonti had been kept relatively at bay by scoring only one of those goals.

Then came the fury.

In less than four minutes, the transfer from Highland buried three goals, all of which came from right in front of the net. Senior midfielder Jordan Baird fed him for back-to-back goals before senior captain Drew Supanich tossed in an unassisted shot of his own. Sophomore Ty Kashur then he looped around from behind the net at the 4:53 mark before chucking a quick pass that Betonti immediately deposited.

"They did not press out and it was really easy to draw a slide," said Betonti, who led all scorers with six goals.

Before the Eagles even knew what hit them, sophomore middie Jeremy Kartel scooped up a ground ball on the next faceoff, blitzed his way through the Liberty defense and, in seven seconds, slung in another Stonewall goal, making the score officially lopsided at 9-0.

In the remaining four and a half minutes, the real race began as Stonewall attempted to take a 12-0 advantage before half time so the clock would run continuously throughout the second half unless Liberty managed to pull itself within a dozen.

Successive goals from Baird, Juan Orellana and Kashur did just that while 1:39 still remained in the half, which gave enough time for senior attack captain Simon Yi to scoot his way through two Liberty defenders and put the tally at a baker's dozen for Stonewall.

Liberty goalie Conor O'Kane managed to rack up more saves in the first half with five than his Stonewall counterpart Jon Harrington did all game (three). The Eagles' senior keeper added another seven saves in the second half before being relieved by sophomore backup Nick Romano, who earned two of his own.

Stonewall meanwhile kept up the offensive pressure in the second half. The Raiders successfully executed all 12 clear attempts it made compared to a 0-for-3 showing by Liberty. The Raides clobbered the Eagles on the ground war, winning 46 out of 64 ground balls while attempting 45 shots on goal compared to Liberty's six.
"We practiced all the clearing and riding and everything" over spring break, said Kashur.

Five of Liberty's shots came from senior attacks Luke Childers (3) and Mike Toms (2), with one other provided by junior midfielder Lou Chiccehitto.

Harrington, the Raiders' goalie, did not have to make a single save in the second half of the game because of an unrelenting attack by the Stonewall offense. Eight players scored on the night, including multiple goals by Betonti (6), Kashur (4), Supanich (2), Orellana (2) and freshman attack Mark Kalajainen (2). Yi, Kortel and Baird each dumped in one a piece.

"We could keep up with them, but we had to keep our stick skills on. Like, we couldn't be dropping easy passes and we had to get every ground ball that we could," said Liberty's Cooper.

Some of Betonti's goals came by luck and some by sheer skill. He put Stonewall up 14-0 in the third quarter on an errant pass attempt that bounced off a Liberty defender and went into the net.

Later, with 1:40 left to go in the game, Kashur found his favorite target Betonti one more time with a pass that led the sophomore to run from goalie Romano's right to left. Betonti completely passed the goal and, with the flip of his wrist, snapped the ball over his right shoulder for a top-shelfer that surprised even the Stonewall fans.

"We need to step up our stick skills; we can't stop moving," said Cooper as he diagnosed what has led Liberty to an 0-5 start. "And our defense has to play hard. They've got to stay on their man or they're going to get burned."