Fighting through the pouring rain, Carlmont girls varsity lacrosse finished a thrilling season opener with a hard-fought comeback to defeat Woodside Priory with a final score of 17-7.
“Our biggest strength this game was our communication, which really helped us on both defense and offense,” said Delaney Paulus, a Carlmont senior attacker who scored two goals. “We also set up attacks really well and held the ball a lot more.”
One major obstacle for the Scots was containing the Panthers’ best player, talented sophomore Stella Axe.
“At the beginning of the game, we didn’t do the best job defending Stella,” said Annika Andersen, a Carlmont junior midfielder who had three goals. “We talked with our coach about how we thought we could defend her better, and we started using new setups to always stay on her.”
Carlmont also had to overcome foul trouble, which greatly hurt them at times.
“The refs were calling a lot of fouls, so we had to work on not taking dangerous and illegal shots,” said Leah Williams, a sophomore attacker who scored twice for the Scots.
The team is also extremely excited to begin playing a normal season again, unlike the past two years.
“I played lacrosse last year in a short, cut season, and that was a real bummer,” Paulus said. “This year, we have come back to normal and having a full team has been great.”
At the beginning of the first half, the Panthers gained an early lead over the Scots, pulling ahead 5-3. However, following their crucial adjustments, the Scots jumped ahead 6-5 going into halftime.
In the second half, the Scots began to show their dominance with numerous goals and exerting constant pressure on their opponents. One outstanding performer was Carlmont freshman attacker Samantha Leavitt, who ended the match with a team-leading eight goals and two assists.
The Woodside Priory Panthers felt that the absence of multiple essential players contributed to the loss.
“We currently have many injuries on the team, which means that players are not available where we need them,” said Jen Lee, Woodside Priory’s head coach.
However, the Panthers do believe that this will be a successful year, once their full roster is healthy.
“It is way better this year, returning from COVID-19,” Lee said. “We have a better schedule and a renewed interest in the sport, which is great for the strength of the program.”
The Scots also are optimistic about the rest of the year and have set achievable goals for themselves.
“We want to be as aggressive and competitive of a team as we can, and we want to win as many games as possible,” Paulus said.
