With a new coach and seven freshmen on the varsity team, many were wondering how the season was going to turn out for the varsity girls’ lacrosse team. The team responded by winning fourteen games and only suffering two losses while advancing to the section final.

“Our goals at the beginning of the season were to improve individually and as a team, and to better our previous season record. I think everyone has vastly improved in each of those categories,” first-year head coach Ana Bowlsby said.

The girl’s only loss in the regular season was against Edina where they lost in overtime 13-14. “It was a shattering loss. We were on such a good winning streak. We knew that it was going to be a hard, they just wanted it more than us,” sophomore Sydney Leibl said. After the Edina game, the girls won all but one of their remaining games by more than five goals. “I think that the Edina game made us really step up our game,” captain Sammi Johnson said.

With their 14-1 regular season record and great team chemistry, the girls earned the second seed in their section. “We have a wonderful group of girls on the team that work hard and together on the field,” Bowlsby said.

The girls played Minneapolis in their first sectional game and won 17-4. With the win against Minneapolis, the girls were feeling good going into their semifinal game against Cretin-Derham Hall. “We were confident going into the game versus Cretin- Derham Hall. We knew it was going to be a hard game and they put up a good fight,” freshman defenseman Rachel Lyons said; the girls defeated Cretin 13-8.

The girls faced off against Blake for the section 6 finals on Tuesday at Edina Community Center, but were unable to defeat the defending state champion losing by a score of 8-9. The team finishes the season with a record of 14-2 and will look to build off of the best year in program history.