The girls lacrosse team was defeated by the Sacred Heart Gators 19-3 in a tough match on Monday evening.
Despite immediate pressure from the Gators, the game started out in favor of the Bears. While the draw started with the Gators in possession, junior midfielder Auden Jones’ quick steal allowed the Bears to push downfield. Within the first two minutes, Jones put the first points on the board after she found a gap in the defense and scored.
Jones utilized the gained momentum by winning the next draw and expertly maneuvering towards the goal. Under the sudden pressure, a Gator defender committed a foul under frustration. However, the Gators were able to regain possession and counterattack for a goal.
The Gators won the next draw and immediately caught the Bears’ defense off guard. Shortly, the Gators were winning 2-1 off of a low, left corner shot. Seconds later, the Bears were put to the test yet again with the Gators’ offense outside the crease. A shot from 12-meters out brought the Gators up 3-1.
The Bears couldn’t regain possession on the next toss, giving the Gators another opportunity to run through the Bears’ defense and nail the ball into the net. In an attempt to level out the scoreboard, senior midfielder EB Hoffman won the next toss and charged for the goal, but was stopped by the Gators seemingly impenetrable defense.
The Bears were in a rough position halfway through the first quarter, falling behind 5-1. Regardless, sophomore goalkeeper Stella Mattson was once again able to save a strong shot towards the center of the goal.
Junior defender Shelby Rider followed up by applying pressure to the Gators’ offense on the left side. The Gators still kept position on the ball and within the next few minutes, they scored three more goals, and the scoreboard flashed 8-1.
More force from the defense momentarily stopped the Gators’ relentless attacks, but despite a check, they were still able to score. Then, junior attacker Bailee van Loben Sels won the next toss but couldn’t complete her pass. With a minute left, the Gators started to drain the clock. A shot on the crossbar gave the Bears hope of stopping the attack, but a shot ten seconds later put the Gators up 10-1 to end the quarter.
The second period started with van Loben Sels dashing past several Sacred Heart defenders. Despite being fouled, she was able to pass the ball off to junior attacker Ellie Dillon to continue the attack. Junior midfielder Molly Gray ran across the goal, and was able to find sophomore defender Aryn Roodman through the crowd. Hoffman looked like she was going for a shot, and sophomore Brooke Ver Ploeg was able to tip it into the goal, giving the Bears much needed relief at 12-2 with seven minutes left in the quarter.
“I thought we did really well in communicating and playing together, so our teamwork was really good,” van Loben Sels said.
The Gators infiltrated the Bears’ left side soon after, ripping a shot past the goalie to make the score 13-2. Within the next four minutes, the Gators were able to score two more goals to the left corner after a series of passes. The second period ended 15-2.
The third period started with a minute of Gator possession. Senior attacker Lexi Nelson’s aggressive defense was able to keep them from the goal. This gave junior offender Ryland Caelius the opportunity to threaten the Gator defense and try to build out around their goal. However, a few passes later, the Gators regained possession and headed towards the Bears’ goal.
The Gators were able to create a comfortable momentum for over three minutes passing around the goal with occasional runs in. After one of the many passes over the goal, the Bears were able to intercept. A frustrated Gator checked junior defender Gabby Rothstein, but the Bears were still able to get on the attack. An overthrown pass rolled out to the side to end their short lived possession.
The Gators offense resumed comfortable possession, regardless of Hoffman’s best pressing efforts. At the three minute mark, a shot too far left gave the Bears hope for an attack. However, the Gators offense was able to run towards goal and make the score 16-2.
Nelson found energy at the end of the third period by running from the halfway point of the field towards the goal. After an additional run behind the goal, she hit a carefully placed shot into the low right corner to give the Bears a much needed point on the board.
The next toss was won by the Gators, but their shot was again blocked by Mattson. In the final seconds of the third quarter, Mattson wasn’t able to save yet another low shot on her goal. The quarter ended 17-3.
The last quarter toss was done twice because of a Gator overstep before the whistle. A foul on the Bears let the Gators extend possession for four minutes. After two cross goal passes, and continuous efforts to keep possession by the Gators, the game ended 19-3.
“I honestly think this game went a lot better than the last time we played Sacred Heart, and I’m really happy about it,” sophomore Lucy Gostyla said.
The Bears will play the Archbishop Mitty Monarchs on Friday at 5 p.m.
