Girls lacrosse packs in three games

The Lady Outlaws kicked off their season with a bang, with three games in one week. Sisters started strong with a 19-7 win at home against Redmond on Monday, March 12. On Thursday, Sisters suffered a tough 6-15 loss to Bend United, but bounced back strong with an 18-4 victory over Roseburg on Saturday.

In Monday's win against Redmond, the Outlaws posted 13 of their 19 goals in the first half.

Sydney Head started at center for the Outlaws for the majority of the contest and had a fabulous performance. Head tallied two goals, had two draw controls, three caused turnovers and eight ground balls. Skylar Wilkins, who also played at center, recorded two goals, two assists, two draw controls, and five ground balls. Mary Root, at the same position, had three draw controls, four caused turnovers and five ground balls.

Coach Mikaela Trott commented on her center players.

"These three worked really hard in and out, taking over for one another on the draw control to switch things up, and each presented different strengths when taking the draw. Sydney is able to place the ball wherever she wants when she's on the circle. Mary is one of our fastest players, and she has the ability to weave in and out through people's sticks. Skylar was really great at placing the ball to our goal-side, so that the offense on her side of the circle could go straight to the ball, and usually come up with it."

Sisters defense played incredible, and was a wall on Redmond's offensive players. They created lots of caused turnovers by intercepting the ball, or knocking the ball loose with their bodies. Collectively, the defense was able to transition quickly and get the ball upfield to the attack players.

Makila Lajko, at goalie, recorded five saves. Trott told The Nugget that Lajko's strengths as goalie lie in her communication skills with the defense, and being able to throw the ball really far up to midfield players for a seamless and smooth transition.

Several others also made contributions in the win. Mia Cook led the team with five goals. Ellie Cook scored three goals, had six ground balls, and played every position on the field.

Kaylee Huber, who was just back from a concussion, scored two goals, and had three ground balls. Pearl Gregg scored one goal, had two assists and seven ground balls. Mirjam Ehrler, foreign exchange student from Switzerland, also scored a goal.

Sisters played in tough weather conditions against Bend United Thursday: snow that blew sideways, and a temperature drop of 10 degrees in the second half.

Sisters offense struggled until the final couple of minutes in the first half, when Kaylee Huber got the ball and drove straight toward the goal, and scored on a beautiful bounce shot to the right hand post. At the half, the Outlaws trailed 1-10.

Sisters did better in the second half, scoring five goals, but they had dug such a deep hole in the first half they were unable to recover.

Mia Cook scored three goals for the Outlaws, Huber scored two, and Ellie Cook added one.

"The athletes definitely got in their own heads and weren't able to make anything happen in that first half," said Trott. "Bend United controlled the draw control and held the ball on their offensive side 80 percent of the time. It was a really tough game, and I wish we would have played better."

Two days later, the Outlaws turned it around and played a great game against Roseburg.

Head led the Outlaws with three goals, one assist, five draw controls, and three ground balls. She played at center for most of the game, and effectively guided the ball towards the Outlaws' offense.

Top scorers for the Outlaws were: Huber with three goals, and Mia Cook, Ellie Cook, Mary Root, Pearl Gregg, and Faith Godfrey with two goals each.

Mary Root won the 'game ball' for the day for her fine performance. Mary finished the contest with two goals, one assist, two draw controls, and three ground balls.

"Overall, Mary played with heart and ferocity," said Trott.

Olivia Hougham racked up five assists in the game, a stat that Trott was very pleased with.

"An often-unrecognized statistic is assists," stated Trott. "Typically there are only one or two assists per player, if that, and Olivia had five today. That shows me she's a team player and she's more concerned about making sure the team scores, rather than her making the goal herself."

Defensive players Ehrler, Josie Aylor, and Sophia Bianchi did an amazing job, and put up an impenetrable wall that Roseburg couldn't knock down.

"Overall, I'm really proud of the way the game turned out," said Trott. "After a hard loss against Bend United this week, we really came back with a lot of confidence. A huge reason why we had a comeback is because of Bill Rexford (former Outlaws boys lacrosse head coach). He was in town all week and really supported the Outlaws program. He brings an extensive background of lacrosse, a heart for the game, and overall cares deeply for these athletes. We're super-lucky to have had him, and would really like to thank him for his help."

The Lady Outlaws were to play at Thurston on Monday, March 19. They will play at home against Summit on Wednesday, March 22.