Girls lacrosse earns faceoff in regionals

After finishing the regular season with a record of eight wins and three losses, the girls varsity lacrosse team entered the eight-team Liberty District tournament as the fourth seed.

Marshall’s first round match-up was against the fifth-seeded McLean Highlanders.

McLean was led by their head coach Alex Whitworth and second team all district players Alex Lockhart and Nina Zegler.

The lady Statesmen were coached by Nicholle Clinton, a former Marshall lacrosse player herself, and led by first team all district players juniors Annie Greenwood and Rachel Waldron and sophomore Jessica Taylor.

The Statesmen girls knew they were coming into a favorable match-up being the higher seeded team, so it was all about executing and playing defense for them.

Freshman and starting attack Allie Johnson said before the game, “We have been doing [at practice] a lot more conditioning and we have been working on our stick skills to make sure they are perfect for when we enter the tournament.”

The focused preparation seemed to pay off for the team. The Marshall girls came out strong in the opening minutes of the game.

They took a 4-1 lead before a 30-minute delay had to be called due to lightning and heavy rain.

Once the game resumed, the Statesmen continued to play the same way they began the match.

Statesmen goalie and junior Meredith Crizer would not allow a goal past her through the rest of the half.

At halftime, the score was 9-1 in favor of Marshall. Junior Rachel Waldron already had a three-goal game and she would finish the game with five.

Marshall showed teamwork, fluent ball movement down the field and solid defense.

The second half was no different. Freshman and midfielder Kelly Brown had three goals and finished the game with a total of four.

As a team, the girls added on eight more goals and McLean tacked on four more goals to make the final score 17-5.

After the game, the Lady Statesmen’s new focus switched to the number one seed, Madison high school.

With a fast-paced offense, the Warhawks were able to break down the Lady Statesmen’s defense.

The game ended with the Statesmen losing to the Warhawks 6-22.

Despite the semi-final loss in the Liberty District Tournament, they will still have a chance to compete in the regional tournament.