The Palo Alto High School girls’ lacrosse team (13-3, 9-1) lost to Burlingame High School, 10-4, on Friday, marking its second consecutive loss since their game against Los Gatos.
Despite their efforts, the Vikings were unable to defend against Burlingame’s offensive strength.
“I think we played pretty well considering that our team was missing a huge part of our defensive line up and because we were also trying a new defense for the first time,” senior attacker Lauren Mah said.
Early on in the game, Burlingame scored two goals, giving them a 2-0 lead. After a fast break across the field from freshman attacker Nina Kelty, sophomore attacker Kimmie Flather made a great catch that helped her score the Vikings’ first point of the game.
After Burlingame scored three more goals, freshman attacker Charlotte Biffar retaliated with a quick dash down the field to score another goal, bringing the Vikings within three points of Burlingame.
Burlingame then went on to score another goal on the Vikings, ending the first half at 2-6.
The Viking’s lack of communication strongly affected the outcome of the game, according to junior goalie Lara Cutkosky.
“I’d be lying if I said we played our best,” Cutkosky said. “I think we have a lot of stuff to work on. I think that if we had better communication this score would’ve been completely different.”
To start off the second half, Burlingame kept the game on Paly’s side of the field, scoring yet another goal to make the score 2-7.
Flather countered with her second goal of the game, cleverly running behind the goal to take a close shot from the side, bringing the score to 3-7.
Following Flather’s goal, Burlingame’s relentless offense countered with three consecutive goals, putting the Vikings even further behind at 10-3.
After a series of plays, senior attacker Lauren Mah took a close shot on Burlingame, scoring the last goal of the game and setting the score at 10-4, Burlingame.
Head coach Jen Gray attributed the final score to Burlingame’s strong defense as well as a lack of follow-ups from the Vikings.
“I think what it came down to is we didn’t finish up,” Gray said. “They [Burlingame] have an amazing goalie and she played really well today. I think we need to take care of the ball and take better shots because ultimately, every shot that we miss or that they save comes back, and they get a try on offense.”
While recognizing the team’s efforts, Gray also congradulates Burlingame for a great game.
“The girls played their hearts out,” Gray said. “They played hard like they always do. Burlingame had a great game today and they finished it up.”
Mah said that with more motivation, Paly can begin a new winning streak.
“For our next game, I think that everyone just needs to relax a little more because everyone was very tense,” Mah said. “We just need to learn to enjoy the game again and play with heart. When it comes down to it we have more skill than most of our opponents, we just have to want it more, and that shows through hustle and athleticism.”
While the outcome of this game may be unfavorable, Gray expressed the Vikings’ unwavering determination.
“This is just one of those games they got to shake off and come back ready to play the next day,” Gray said.
They’ll have that chance 4:30 p.m. this Wednesday at St. Francis High School in Mountain View.