The Paly varsity lacrosse team lost, 7-3, in an evenly matched game against the Leland High School Chargers.

“I think they did really well,” Paly head coach Jen Gray said. “I think they even surprised themselves.”

The Vikings hustled to possess, check, and steal the ball from their opponents during the first half of the game. However, during the second half, after scoring three goals, three of the Chargers, including Allie Roe, Janna Minehart, and Margy Roe, dominated possession.

Junior midfielder Allie Roe scored all three goals in the first half for Leland by skillfully piercing the Paly defense.

“I think they were so surprised that they could have won that they got nervous,” Gray said. “To me, it shows that they can really compete in this league even in our first year.”

Even though the team has only recently joined a competitive league, Gray felt that the Vikings skillfully dealt with their physically aggressive opponents.

“The other team was really rough, but my girls didn’t back down at all,” Gray said. “I’m really proud of them for that.”

During the first half of the game, junior Caroline Lucas-Conwell scored and helped the team catch up to 2-1, after Allie Roe swiftly made two goals. Freshman Gracie Cain, an attacker, played tough offense against the defenders, and even prevented opponents from getting too close to the goal.

Sophomore Brianna Boyd scored an unassisted goal after engaging in fierce struggles with the Charger defense.

Near the second half, Paly struggled to make more goals after scoring two goals in the first half of the game. After Leland scored four goals in a row, junior co-captain Helene Zahoudanis scored Paly’s third goal.

Despite the surge in the Charger offense during the second half, the Vikings’ defense remained strong. Junior goalkeeper Anna Bastidas blocked an eight-meter penalty shot by Janna Minehart from Leland to close off the game.

The girls, including senior co-captain Kati Dahm and sophomore midfielder Emily Fowler, feel proud of their performance against Leland’s team.

“We actually played really well, although the score doesn’t really reflect how well we played,” Fowler said. “They’re a really good team.”

“We played the top team in the league, and we have a lot of potential,” Dahm said. “I think if we played them again, we could beat them.”

After playing a challenging match, the team will strategically plan for the next one, recognizing and working to improve its weaknesses.

“We’re going to work more on transition,” Gray said. “We worked on it yesterday, and we saw a lot of improvement. What we are losing are the draw controls, which is where after a goal, we need to gain possession of the ball.”

The players hope to learn more from similarly challenging future encounters.

“Hopefully we’ll get play to get better and keep improving,” Lucas-Conwell said.

The varsity girl’s lacrosse team will face Harker/Notre Dame at 5:30 p.m. on April 8 in San Jose.