The Palo Alto High School varsity girls’ lacrosse team (2-0) continues its hot streak after defeating University High School, 12-3, on Wednesday night at Paly.
The Vikings, who upset powerhouse St. Ignatius in overtime last Friday to kick off the season, approached the game prepared to battle for every ball and open shot.
“Coming in, we just focused on ourselves,” coach Jamie Nesbitt said. “So we told them [the players] we expect the same thing from the last game … get the draws, win the ground balls. No matter who you’re playing, those are things you need to do.”
A formidable defensive effort and teamwork attack coupled with consistent domination of the draws characterized the Vikings’ early efforts. Paly got off to a commanding start as freshman attacker Charlotte Biffar scored just minutes into the game, setting the tone for a dominating performance by Paly.
Soon after Biffar’s goal, senior attacker Sam Herzog tossed in back-to-back goals for the Vikings, quickly bringing the score to 3-0. The Vikings then won the next draw, allowing senior midfielder Emily Fowler to swiftly charge through the University defense and score. Two goals by junior attacker Emily Benatar soon followed, and the Vikings took a dominant 6-0 lead.
Relentless defense by the Vikings ensured that, when the Red Devils took control of the ball, they rarely were able to carry it past midfield, resulting in few shots on goal by University.
After two yellow cards on University players, senior attacker Brianna Boyd scored a series of impressive goals to put the Vikings ahead, 8-0. Boyd, who did not play in Friday’s game due to a concussion, said she was nervous for her first game of the season.
“It was kind of nerve-wracking because it was my first game after we had that big win and I had to watch it,” Boyd said. “It felt pretty good [to score the goals]. I’ve been working a lot in practice.”
After a prolonged Paly possession in which the Vikings worked on executing clean passes, Biffar brushed off the Red Devils’ defense to score her second goal of the night, bringing the total to 9-0. University then took control of the ball and sprinted down the field to shoot, but was unable to score before the buzzer.
Entering the second half with a 9-0 lead, the Vikings decided to focus on the fundamentals rather than continue their aggressive attack, according to head coach Jen Gray. Gray said she tried to maintain the quality of play despite Paly’s commanding lead by setting challenges for the players.
“We [the coaches] tried to make sure that they were challenged,” Gray said. “We set small individual goals; they had to play all with their non-dominant [hand], they had to score only off of certain options on our attack motion. Also, they weren’t allowed to check, which really helped them focus on playing defense with their feet…just sort of keeping the execution up even though the intensity level near the end of the game wasn’t going as quickly.”
Paly started the second half slowly, keeping the ball in control and making few shots on goal. After several minutes in which the Vikings claimed sole possession of the ball, sophomore midfielder Kimie Flather scored off of a pass by junior midfielder Leigh Dairaghi to establish a 10-0 lead for Paly.
A series of dropped balls by both Paly and University allowed the Red Devils to score their first goal of the night. University won the ensuing draw and, seconds later, sprinted down the field to score again, bringing the score to 10-2.
Paly won the next draw and Boyd broke away, tearing through the University defense to score her third goal of the evening in high fashion.
After further dropped balls and shifting possessions near the University goal, the Red Devils gained control of the ball and scored their third and final goal. After another yellow card on a University player, Paly was able to maintain possession of the ball, allowing senior midfielder Maya Fielder to score and establish a 12-3 victory for the Vikings.
Nesbitt said that despite the lopsided score, the girls maintained their control of the game.
“I think they did a good job of staying in control of the game,” Nesbitt said. “It could have gotten messy with a lot of checks. A lot of times these sort of games get out of control in that way, but I think they held onto the ball and, in general, took care of everything.”
Biffar said the game allowed the Vikings to practice their teamwork.
“We continued communicating and we had good teamwork,” Biffar said. “It was really good for us to work on the fundamentals and specific plays and we got a lot accomplished.”
The varsity team will play its next game against Leland High School at 4 p.m. on Wednesday at Paly.