The girls lacrosse team fell 7-6 to the Saint Francis Lancers in a narrow overtime battle on Wednesday evening. Despite persistent efforts by the Bears, the Lancers scored a well-placed goal to secure the win.
Starting out the game, Saint Francis tried to make a move early by snatching the ball off the faceoff and taking a quick shot. Junior goalkeeper Stella Mattsson came up with a clutch stop and bounced back by propelling the ball ahead to senior attacker Bailee Van Loben Sels to spark M-A’s offense. The Bears patiently swung the ball around, eventually cracking the Lancer defense and creating space for senior attacker Ellie Dillon to cut through the middle. Dillon expertly nailed a low shot past the goalkeeper, giving M-A an early 1-0 lead with 9:45 left in the first quarter.
M-A didn’t hesitate to build off this momentum, promptly securing the ball off the faceoff. Giving the Lancers no time to recoup, Van Loben Sels swiftly pushed the ball up the field and converted on another goal just 20 seconds later, extending the Bears’ advantage to 2-0.
Continuing this intensity, M-A was rock-solid on defense thanks to swarming pressure from senior defenders Shelby Rider and Molly Gray. The Bears further prevented Saint Francis from getting promising looks on goal with a picked off pass by sophomore midfielder Jane Pence. Despite this, the Lancers returned to M-A’s side shortly after, finally managing to penetrate the defense and put their first goal on the board, 2-1, with 2:32 remaining.
Saint Francis took a timeout immediately after, hoping to convert on this momentum. The Lancers took the faceoff and rushed toward the goal for an open shot, but Mattsson stepped up with a crucial stop to end the first quarter with M-A ahead, 2-1.
“I’m most proud of our defense. I think we really were solid down there,” Pence said. “I think the offense was a little tricky because they are backer D, which is a little new to us, but I thought our defense was really solid and helped us get where we were in the game.”
Both teams struggled to find rhythm offensively early in the second quarter as they traded turnovers and missed shots. Saint Francis was soon able to get off a shot, but it wasn’t enough to get past Mattsson, who remained an impenetrable force in goal. Building on this, a hustle play by Van Loben Sels secured possession and sparked an offensive push from the Bears. Dillon got a look on goal, narrowly hitting the crossbar and bouncing back. However, she came up with the rebound and drilled a shot into the back of the net, giving the Bears a 3-1 lead with 5:33 remaining.
Saint Francis was quick with a response, scoring just a few minutes later on a fast break off an M-A turnover. The Lancers didn’t stop there, as they finished an attempt on goal promptly out of the faceoff to tie the game up, 3-3. The Bears continued to struggle offensively, finding no success despite patient ball movement. A penalty on M-A gave Saint Francis a shot with two seconds on the clock, but Mattsson stepped up once again with a critical stop to end the half tied, 3-3.
The Bears took control to begin in the third quarter, with senior midfielder Auden Jones winning the faceoff and scoring just a minute in to give M-A back their lead at 4-3. Even so, the Lancers got a fast break soon after, but it was abruptly halted by Gray and Rider, who quickly returned possession to the Bears with a steal. Making the most of this, senior midfielder Mae Kunihiro scored with two minutes remaining to bring the total to 5-3.
This only increased Saint Francis’ intensity, as they came out of the faceoff with a goal of their own. Continuing this pattern, they scored again instantly after, tying the game 5-5 with a minute left. The Lancers tried to pull out an advantage with a good look on goal as the clock wound down, but it narrowly missed, ending the quarter even, 5-5.
Kicking off the fourth quarter, Saint Francis obtained possession out of the gate, but suffocating pressure by Dillon helped Van Loben Sels get a steal. However, the Lancers scored on a fast break soon after, forcing M-A to take a timeout to regroup, trailing 6-5.
Coming out of the break determined to bounce back, the Bears secured the ball immediately, confidently maintaining possession through controlled movement. Pence found space in the middle through smooth jukes to sink a crucial shot, tying the game once again at 6-6 with four minutes remaining in the game. With 15 seconds left and the score tied, Saint Francis took a timeout to draw up a final play. However, a misplaced pass prevented them from getting a shot off, and regulation ended 6-6, forcing overtime.
“I think we all really play for each other,” Jones said. “Like I always say that this is the only sports team I play on at M-A because we truly are all looking for the best for every single other player.”
M-A obtained possession early in overtime, and an ankle-breaker by Pence created space offensively for the Bears. Van Loben Sels got a good look, but it missed just wide, bouncing off the post. The Lancers tried to use this momentum, but their fast break was stopped by Gray. However, M-A’s positioning on defense proved faulty, and Saint Francis sank a shot in sudden victory play to end the game, 7-6.
“It’s always disappointing to lose, but I think this game was a great showing of our team and what we can do,” Jones said. “The last time we played Saint Francis, I think we lost 14-3 or something. So I think it just shows the growth that this team has undergone [in] the last four years.”
The Bears will face off against the Los Gatos Wildcats at home on Friday at 5 p.m.
