The girls lacrosse team defeated the Archbishop Mitty Monarchs 7-5 on Wednesday night in a tense game.
Mitty started off powerful, winning the faceoff and controlling the first few minutes. Junior goalkeeper Stella Mattsson stood firm despite several shots from the Monarchs, preventing them from scoring. Junior midfielder Aryn Roodman briefly gained possession for M-A before Mitty quickly took back the ball.
Senior midfielder Auden Jones anchored the Bears’ defense, preventing several drives toward the goal by the Monarchs. However, a great shot from Mitty slipped past the defense to give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead before they called a timeout with 7:19 left in the quarter. The next few minutes featured back-and-forth play, with both teams battling for possession but neither getting good looks on frame.
Nearing the end of the first quarter, senior attacker Ellie Dillon got off a strong shot, but it was blocked by the Monarchs. However, this sparked an unrelenting offensive push for M-A led by sophomore midfielder Jane Pence and junior attacker Iliana Narvaez. The Bears were unable to convert against the Monarchs’ seemingly impenetrable defense, and the quarter ended with Mitty leading 1-0.
M-A entered the second quarter with fierce defensive intensity, putting heavy pressure on the Monarchs. Even so, just a minute in, Mitty managed to fire off another impressive shot, extending the Bears’ deficit to 2-0.
M-A continued to work hard and avoid any mistakes, playing a clean quarter. With 10 minutes left in the half, Dillon was able to get the ball and nail a shot in the back of the net, putting the Bears on the board. Just three minutes later, M-A struck again when Narvaez scored another goal to tie the game, 2-2.
The Bears’ momentum carried over to the other end of the field as they kept the Monarchs at bay, preventing numerous shots and shutting down uncontested passing opportunities. Roodman and senior defender Molly Gray led the defensive effort, forcing multiple turnovers and continuously pressuring the Monarchs.
“I think we played especially strong today, excelling in defense and connecting as a team in the midfield and then maintaining that throughout the whole game,” Pence said.
Toward the end of the half, the Bears began to show signs of fatigue, but Mattsson kept the game close with several excellent saves. Despite M-A’s best efforts, the Monarchs managed to score with just nine seconds left in the half, finishing with Mitty ahead 3-2.
The Bears started off the second half on defense, but Roodman quickly scooped the ball off the floor after the faceoff to gain possession. M-A utilized this on the offensive end, as Roodman found Dillon, who sprinted toward the goal and scored to tie the game at 3-3 with 11:32 on the clock.
Jones won the faceoff and kept a steady flow of passes all the way down the field and around the goal. Junior attacker Lucy Gostyla drilled a shot past the goalkeeper, putting the Bears in the lead 4-3. Focused on keeping their advantage, Mattsson expertly stopped a shot, but Mitty still managed to maintain possession.
The Bears kept up the energy with strong defense, not letting the Monarchs get anywhere near the goal. M-A remained composed with steady passing, creating space for Pence to score with 5:44 left in the quarter. This made way for the Bears to finish off the quarter ahead 5-4.
“I think we did a good job keeping our attitudes up and getting that job done,” Narvaez said.
M-A came into the fourth quarter with their defense on fire, preventing Mitty from finding any opportunities on goal, with skillful backup from Mattsson. Gostyla brought the ball up to the other side of the field before she handed the ball off to Dillon, who wasn’t able to connect on her shot. The Monarchs quickly regained possession and sprinted up the field, then, through a gap in the defense, scored to tie the two teams at 5-5.
However, the Bears found an answer. Senior attacker Bailee van Loben Sels found Gostyla, who sank a shot to bring the tally up to 6-5. Following the faceoff, Roodman gained possession and steadily passed with Gostyla as they made their way across the field. With 3:49 left in the game, Gostyla found the back of the net, heightening M-A’s lead to 7-5.
The Bears remained disciplined on defense to end the game, expertly passing back and forth, securing a 7-5 win for M-A.
“I think we definitely kept a really good mindset the whole game,” Mattsson said.
“We also pulled our offense together well. We were running our plays like we wanted to, and it was overall just a really good, controlled game against the team that we really wanted to beat,” Gostyla said.
The Bears will travel to play the Mountain View Spartans on Friday at 7 p.m.
