Varsity Girls' lacrosse ends the season with a solid performance against PV

The Toads came out firing today in our second round playoff game against PV.  Though PV won the first draw, we regained the ball and moved it up the field, eventually finding Ciara Byrne, who drove the cage and scored high to put us up 1-0.  PV answered back 2 minutes later to tie it up 1-1.  We chose to put Susanna Renfrew to faceguard PV’s #27, who had scored 9 goals in our first encounter with them several weeks ago.  Unfortunately, a wayward ground ball bounced her way several minutes later, just to the left of the goal, and she scooped it up to score: PV 2-, Thacher 1.  Much back and forth play ensued, and Thacher eventually won the ball and moved it down the field into our settled attack.  We ran our offense to perfection, eventually creating an isolation for Isobel Hayne, who drove the crease and scored: 2-2.  PV won the next draw and moved the ball down the field, ultimately finding the back of the net and pulling ahead 3-2 with 13 minutes left in the half.  They scored two more goals to widen the lead to 5-2, but Thacher won the next draw and worked the ball around, eventually finding Byrne who drove the cage to score: 5-3.  PV scored to make it 6-3, then won the next draw and made a quick score to go up 7-3.   However, with 1:20 left in the half, Hayne drove the cage and made a quick pass to Byrne who quick sticked it in: 7-4.  That is where the score stood when the whistle blew for halftime. Throughout, goalie Sage Whipple made several critical saves, including at least one free position save and a huge stuff of a PV player who was unmarked, driving the cage.   Also, though PV was up, their #27 had not scored since her one goal in the first few minutes.

 

The second half began and PV won the draw, working the ball around and scoring: 8-4.  They won the next draw and scored quickly: 9-4.  We faced the sun in the second half, which proved to be almost a 13^th man for PV as it began to set. Thacher won the next draw and moved the ball through the midfield, finding Anne Gregory, who caught the ball and streaked towards the goal, finishing with one of her beautiful, powerful bounce shots: 9-5. PV scored about 2 minutes later to go up 10-5.  On the very next draw, Byrne won the draw and drove down the field, scoring in just 17 seconds: 10-6.  PV scored three more goals to go up 13-6 with 17 minutes remaining, but Thacher would not quit.  We played tremendous team defense, scrambling for every ground ball, knocking down passes, forcing turnovers, and eventually, we found Byrne who scored to make it 13-7 with 12 minutes to go.  Next, Charlotte Driscoll drove the cage and drew a foul, earning a free position at the top hash mark.  She made the most of it, shooting a powerful bounce shot into the goal: 13-8.  Again we worked through several hard fought minutes, with Grace Callander causing turnovers and Mackenzie Boyden moving the ball up the field. Eventually, Driscoll had the ball at the top of the fan and drove, feeding the ball to Byrne at the last second, who powered it in: 13-9 with 8 minutes to go.  Four minutes of scoreless play ensued, with both teams losing the ball and winning it back.  At the 4:49 mark, PV scored on a free position to make it 14-9.  However, Thacher won the next draw control, as Georgie Becker battled it out and got possession of the ball, passing it to Byrne who drove and scored: 14-10.  PV won the next draw and began to stall, and though Thacher worked doggedly to win the ball back, PV prevailed, finding an open seam with 2:30 remaining to make it 15-10.  A large scrum occurred on the next draw, and somehow PV emerged with it, stalling again, ultimately scoring with 27 seconds left.  #27 won the next draw and drove the field to score, finishing the game for PV with a final score of 17-10. Yet we went back to the draw one last time with 7 seconds on the clock.

 

As Coach Grant and I stood on the sideline for that final draw, I have to say that my voice cracked as I called out, “Come on #11, #13, #7, win that draw.”  Those are the numbers of Hayne, Byrne and Renfrew, our three stalwarts on the draw circle, all of whom will leave us.  At this point, we had all of our seniors who were able to play out on the field along with them: Beckham, Purcell, Rubeli, Knutsen, Whipple.  We were missing only Lexie Kirkwood, who has been out for a week due to a concussion.  The whistle blew, and fittingly, Susanna Renfrew snagged the ball out of the air, holding the ball in her stick as time ran out.  We are grateful for the incredible tone our seniors set for us this season: always positive, always ready to play, setting a tremendous example for our younger players to follow.

 

As always, there are moments that I cannot recall in sequence of the goals scored, and as I looked in the huddle today, I could recall a tremendous play from so many: Margaret Troast, catching the ball at midfield from Hayne after making a great cut; Marissa Lopez, scooping yet another ground ball and moving it up the field; Grace Callander, knocking down balls and gaining possession; Sasha Ongley, maintaining composure in a very tough battle for a draw and winning it; Georgie Becker, coming in at the midfield and turning the tide for us with the draw controls; Sarah Voss, also winning two critical draw controls; Madison Rubeli checking to perfection and winning the ball right in the critical scoring area; Anne Gregory, catching ball after ball in the midfield to help us connect the defense to the offense.  Though we did not win, we played a strong game, and we are so proud of the effort of every girl.

 

We would like to thank the parents who came and cheered us on: Elizabeth Callander, Pat Byrne and Karen Kelly, Criss Troast, and Dave Boyden.  We would also like to thank all of the parents who supported us all season (in person and in spirit), from giving up precious days with your daughters over Spring Break to allow us a pre-season trip that jump started this tremendous ride, to bringing us snacks, to traveling far and wide to cheer us on.  We are wondering what we will do without Mrs. Whipple’s cinnamon rolls next year.  But, most of all, you are the parents of amazing young women who we are honored to coach.  They are strong, they are powerful, they care about each other, and they play for each other.  To some of you, see you next year; to others, thank you for sharing them with us all these seasons.  We will miss them dearly.