Girls lacrosse hands Sherwood first loss to MCPS team in 10 years

Vikes hang on in final seconds to squeak out 8–7 win

Midfielder+Hanna+Freund+scored+what+would+prove+to+be+the+game-winning+goal+against+Sherwood+on+Tuesday.+Photo+by+Rachel+Hazan.

Midfielder Hanna Freund scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal against Sherwood on Tuesday. Photo by Rachel Hazan.

By Joey Squeri

Girls lacrosse

The girls lacrosse team (2–1) outlasted the Sherwood Warriors 8–7 on Tuesday behind a furious comeback and two clutch plays.

The Vikes quickly fell down 5–2 to the Warriors in the first half, but found themselves in a familiar spot.

“We tend to dig ourselves holes and come back in the second half,” low attacker Gaby Svec said. “That’s exactly what happened this time.”

The squad quickly turned it around in the the half, going on a 5–2 run which made the score 7–5. Sherwood responded, however, and netted two goals of their own to tie the game late in the second half.

Midfielder Hanna Freund answered back for the Vikes, scoring what would prove to be the winning goal. This put the Vikes up 8–7 with under five minutes to go.

After that, both teams exchanged penalties. First, Sherwood got a yellow card with about two-and-a-half minutes left, allowing the Vikes to play with a man up. But the Vikes committed a foul themselves a minute later and the game became a six on six battle.

The Vikes’ defense shut down Sherwood’s attack for around a minute, but the Warriors had one final chance to send the game into overtime in the closing seconds. They got off a clean shot, but goalie Claire Hisle smothered their shot and held the ball until the final whistle.

The squad fell to the Warriors 9–7 last season, and were ecstatic after their bounceback victory.

“We were beyond excited and proud,” Svec said. “No MCPS team has beat Sherwood in 10 years and we have come so close for the past two years, so we all knew this was the year.”

The Vikes next play Friday at Richard Montgomery at 7 p.m.