Girls lacrosse records victory

The girls lacrosse team kicked off their season with a 15-12 win over Crescent Valley (CV) on Monday, March 17, but three days later fell to South Salem 17-13.

Sisters matched up evenly with Crescent Valley in Monday's game and played a solid game to record the win.

Crescent Valley scored two goals in the first three-and-a-half minutes and took a quick 3-0 lead. Most of the Outlaws' defenders were making their first-ever varsity debut; nerves were evident and they played a bit tentatively.

Sophomore Marissa Young, in her first game at goalie, blocked a shot and cleared it back to Maison Morgan, who scored six minutes into the game. Morgan scored three additional goals in the first half. Sierra Slaughter, at mid-attack, scored three goals in the first half and the Outlaws also got a goal from Langley Vogt. At the half the Outlaws held a one-point lead.

Sisters' defense picked it up in the second half, became a dominant force on the field and kept CV out of scoring range. Freshman Bree Papworth, who moved to keeper, blocked three shots on goal. Morgan knocked in eight more goals for the Outlaws.

Coach Michele Hammer said, "Offensive players Adie Ellson (sophomore) and rookie junior Emily Ford did a great job providing opportunities for shots on goal. On defense, Taylor Schneider and Jenny O'Connor did a fantastic job getting the ball into scoring territory for us."

Young recorded four saves on 10 shots in the game.

Three days later the Lady Outlaws were down to 13 players and were outnumbered against South Salem's roster of 26.

"I think the fact we were down so many players intimidated us, and it showed in our ball-handling and defensive skills in the first half," said Hammer. "Our ball-handling was off and the defense was hesitant in moving in to stop movement into Salem's scoring area."

Salem scored in the first minute of play, but Sisters responded when Morgan dished off an assist to Vogt for a goal. Slaughter scored for the Outlaws, and Morgan added three more, one of which was a penalty shot to close the gap to 10-5 at the half.

The Outlaws came back in the second half firing on all cylinders.

"Our offense did a great job of moving the ball into the scoring area, and the defense did a great job covering the shooting space and made Salem really work for their goals," Hammer said.

Sisters outscored Salem 8-7 in the final half. With three minutes left on the clock, O'Connor knocked in a beautiful shot that went straight over the goalie's shoulders.

Papworth recorded six saves on 18 shots on goal in the second half.

Hammer stated, "If we had played the first half with the same intensity and focus as the second I think the final score might have been different. The girls made Salem really hustle for their points. The girls kept at it despite not having players to sub in while the other team was able to sub in fresh players continually.

"I think this team just has to believe in themselves, and as their skill-set develops their confidence will grow," added Hammer. "They are showing great promise with dedicated new players and a strong veteran core of players. We have no scheduled games over spring break but we will still have practice. I hope we don't lose the forward momentum the team is demonstrating."

Sisters will go up against West Salem, a tough league foe, on Tuesday, April 8.