Although the girls' lacrosse team won the league semifinal game for the first time in the team's history on May 14, they ended their season with a loss in the finals against Palo Alto on May 17.
The team won 9-8 against archrival Gunn during semifinals. During league finals, however, the Falcons lost a close game to Palo Alto, with a score of 15-13.
“This was the furthest girls’ lacrosse has ever made it, and I’m so impressed with my team,” senior captain and center Jennie Werner said.
In the May 17 game, the Falcons held strong for the first part of the finals game, with a wavering one to three-point lead. Near the end of the first half, Palo Alto caught up and gained a four-point lead but soon the girls caught up and narrowed it so they only had a two-point lead for the rest of the game.
Sophomore Erin Norris said playing powerful Palo Alto required even more aggression than they bought.
“We could have crashed on [their] defense a little earlier to stop their amazing players,” Norris said. “We could have created more opportunities by creating turnovers in transition.”
On the other hand, many players went to the league semifinals in a enthusiastic mood because they were glad to advance so far, according to Werner.
“We went into our semifinal game against Gunn just wanting to play our best,” Werner said. “Win or lose, we wanted to leave everything on the field because many of us knew it could be our last game.”
The Falcons caught Gunn off guard, because the girls lost to them 9-1 the previous week and a win was unexpected. According to Werner, after getting frustrated, Gunn was unable to play as a team, and the Falcons took advantage of it.
“We just worked our team strategy and focused on playing well together and the win came,” Werner said. “Never had I been so excited after a game.”
The team ended its season with an overall record of 13-6 in the Santa Clara Valley League. Major wins include ones against Sequoia on May 12, where the Falcons won with a score of 13-11 in the league quarter-finals. On May 2, the girls crushed Los Gatos, 12-4. Lead scorers included seniors Risha Shah and Ingrid Hong.
The loss to Palo Alto was the last game of the season, but it inspired the returning players.
“Everyone was out on the field during the finals game and gave it their best,” Norris said. “We played like a team.”