This year, girls varsity lacrosse has had a very successful season. This week, they competed in Division 1 in CIF. All three of their games were a win, resulting in the title of D1 champions for this year.
Teammates junior Reese Ricklefs, freshman Carly Colby and junior Lauren Lorenzen discuss the highs of this season, as well as how their CIF games went.
“My favorite part has definitely been some of our closer games,” Lorenzen said. “It’s been really competitive and super fun. I love the team, so it’s been really fun to compete with them in tight games.”
Many of the players have favorite moments during their games from throughout the season. These moments stand out in their minds and hold meaning to them.
“My most proud moment this season would probably be scoring a goal against Sage Creek,” Lorenzen said. “I don’t normally get to score because I usually play goalie, but I got to go on the field and I scored.”
For some players, their proudest moments aren’t what happens on the field. Instead, it’s their teammates that uplift them.
“My most proud moment of this season was probably when I get to see seniors and see the celebration that they have [after our games],” Riclefs said. “My favorite part is the team bonding and family bond that we have. We’re constantly enjoying practice and just being around each other.”
The people on the team are what makes the team such a unique experience. Having a strong bond between teammates can help increase the collaboration on the field.
“There’s no drama,” Lorenzen said. “The team gets along really, really well, and I think that’s helped us a lot off on and off the field. Just knowing that like the player next to you has your back and we are all there for each other.”
Many players have had to undergo changes throughout the season. This can prove to be difficult sometimes, but players such as Ricklefs welcome the challenge.
“Originally I was a midfielder, so I adjusted to this new position,” Ricklefs said. “So I’m really excited to see where this goes.”
Another change occurred for Carly Colby, a freshman here at CHS. She plays goalie for the JV girls lacrosse team. She got pulled up to varsity to be the backup goalie for CIF. On Saturday, she blocked 2 goals at the first CIF game.
“I’ve been working really hard to just learn how to play the position the right way to help my team,” Colby said. “I’m super excited [for CIF]. I won’t get much action, but I’ll still be there to support all the girls on and off the field. I’m super excited for the amazing opportunity.”
Another important aspect of the season is the improvements that have been made, whether that’s individually or as a team. Lorenzen notes that their defense has improved greatly.
“I’m a lot more confident in a lot of the players now,” Lorenzen said. “I feel like we’ve done some really great work and from an attacking side. In the beginning of the year, I don’t feel like we were really scoring very much, but we’ve definitely improved in that field too.”
Next, sophomore Layla Munoz breaks down the first CIF game that occurred on May 11. The game was more difficult than most because of the added aspects that most of the seniors had to leave for prom. The team had to get as much done in the first half as possible.
“We all thought, well, if we don’t step up now, the seniors are going to leave,” Munoz said. “So we got our heads in the game and we got five or six points and then all the seniors left. We ended up winning by lot, I think it was 12 to 3.”
Their next game, which occurred on May 14, was a success as well, with a score of 11-5. But the real highlight of the season was the finals game against Del Norte on May 17.
“The final game was very tight,” Lorenzen said. “It was very back-and-forth, and it was a roller coaster of a game. In the last three minutes, they scored a goal and we were down by one, but we ended up winning the ball with 20 seconds left and scoring with two seconds left in the game.”
The game was tied at the end, so the teams went into sudden death overtime. The first team to score would win the championship.
“It was very high pressure,” Lorenzen said. “I made one save, and then it was very back-and-forth. But in the end we scored off of like a foul on us, so a free shot.”
The CIF win this season was a high point for everyone on the team. This not only strengthened the teams reputation, but it strengthened their bond as well.
“The season was really, really fun this year because we really wanted to win this one,” Lorenzen said. “The bonding this year was amazing and winning the championship brought us together.”
