The girls varsity lacrosse team has continued to stick together in the off-season in hopes of improving their success in the regular season. The girls went 6-0 in the Varsity Division.
Seniors Paige Britton, Sarah Bergen, Kate Grandchamp, juniors Sureyya Gokturk, Bayley Brill, Megan Ryan, Amanda Villafana Lulu Faisel, Kaitlin Martindale and freshman Ashley Britton competed in the annual Fairfax Fall Brawl Lacrosse Tournament over the weekend at Woodson HS.
Competing in the Varsity division, the girls had to win the first three games in order to have a shot at winning the division. They played Oakton, Paul VI and Herndon, winning all three.
The Fall Brawl Tournament has different rules from an actual game. Only seven players are allowed on the field for each team, including the goalie. Each game is 25 minutes, and there are no time-outs or stops after goals. The game is meant for quick, continuous play for the athletes.
“My favorite part about the tournament was that it was a fast pace game which made it eciting and had me focusing on what was going on,” junior goalie Kaitlin Martindale said.
“The most exciting of the first three games was our last game against Herndon. We ended in a tie and went into a “Braveheart” round,” junior Amanda Villafana said. “We [Herndon] had both won our first two games, and this game would determine our fate for the rest of the tournament. We had to send in one player to go one-on-one against one player on the opposite team, and they would stop when someone scored.”
Senior Paige Britton was selected to be the player to either make-or-break the game. Each team still had their goalies and played till one scored. After a save from junior goalie Kaitlin Martindale, Britton got a hold of the ball and scored the winning goal.
The next three games would determine the overall winner. They played South Lakes, Broad Run and for the final victory, Yorktown.
“My favorite part of the Broad Run game was how we were up by one goal with three minutes left in the game, and we just played a “keep away” game from them, and passed the ball around our team, not scoring, and forcing them to foul us,” senior Paige Britton said. “It was really good practice for us, since that’s something that is very likely to happen when we start our season.”
The girls team will participate in the Winter Indoor Triple Edge league starting December 9. Games will take place on Sundays until the Spring season begins.
“We got a lot of last years JV and Varsity players to sign up for the league, so we can all improve our skills together,” senior Paige Britton said.
