Girls lacrosse kicks off season with win

Captain Alayna Richmond runs with the ball. The varsity girls lacrosse team won their first regular season match against Newark Memorial High School 10-3.

Meena Gudapati

Captain Alayna Richmond runs with the ball. The varsity girls lacrosse team won their first regular season match against Newark Memorial High School 10-3.

by Meena Gudapati, Winged Post News Editor

Girls varsity lacrosse started the season with a win, defeating Newark Memorial High School 10-3 at Davis Field today.

Although the game is the first to be included in the season, it counts as a non-conference match. The girls played two preseason games prior to this match.

The girls scored five points and ceded three goals in the first half, and scored five more points in the second half.

Captain Alayna Richmond (12) plays defense and midfield for the team.

“I was so proud of how well we played,” she said. “I think that our teamwork was better than ever, and we just connected on all the passes and all of our movements on attack, so I’m really looking forward to the continued teamwork.”

Head Coach Alyssa Dunlap commented on improvements made throughout the game. This season is Head Coach Alyssa Dunlap’s first season coaching the team.

“We made some key adjustments at halftime, and they responded really well. One of our biggest goals was to come up with the draw controls, and they executed perfectly,” she said. “At halftime, my biggest thing for them was to maintain possession, and that’s exactly what they did; [they] brought the ball over on attack, they held the ball and then we finished with a shot in goal.”

This season is Dunlap’s first season coaching the team. She sees room for improvement in future games in transitioning by “coming back and receiving the ball on the transition,” and in offensive movement by “creating a better flow on the attacking end and creating space for teammates.”

Team manager Haley Tran (12), who counted plays, commented on the game.

“I think especially since it’s the first game, [and] they’re still getting used to things, we played especially well,” she said. “There was a lot of good passing and good goals, and I think it was a good learning experience for the freshmen.”

Junior Lauren Russell, who plays attack, defense and midfield, spoke about the team’s performance.

“We definitely were playing 100 percent and hustling, and I know it can sound kind of cliche but we really put our effort in and that’s what ended up making a difference with a lot of it,” she said. “[We] definitely have stuff to work on, but it was a really great first game.”

The team will play their next non-conference match against York School at Davis Field on Friday.