Girls lacrosse: Redwood still on top after tough win over San Marin
An eight-game winning streak to start the season established San Marin High as a legitimate title contender, but lest anyone forget, Redwood is the defending MCAL tournament girls lacrosse champion for a reason.
The Giants struck almost as hard as the monsoon-like weather early in Tuesday’s contest against the Mustangs to build a four-goal lead on their way to a well-earned 11-8 victory in Larkspur.
The Giants (4-2, 1-0) received balanced scoring, with three goals each from senior Annika Danne and junior Riley Peterson in their MCAL opener. Lucy Jeffers and Maya Mihara each scored two goals and Lucy Miller contributed a team-high three assists.
“Every game affects the MCAL title picture,” Redwood head coach Lauren Yee said. “We expect every game will be a challenge.”
The Giants have a bullseye on their backs, with Marin Catholic, San Marin and Tam all hunting the MCAL champions.
San Marin, which finished fourth behind Tam in the regular-season standings in 2022, is determined to climb the MCAL ladder this season.
“We had a motivational speech about keeping our unbeaten streak going,” San Marin coach Chris Ramser said.
The Giants were certainly challenged on Tuesday, from both the Mustangs and the weather, although neither foe slowed them down much early on.
Danne opened the scoring early in the game, followed two minutes later by a goal from Nina Baker for a 2-0 Giants lead. Jeffers tagged on a goal for a 3-0 Redwood lead.
Abigail Brackett got the Mustangs on the board, but Mihara quickly restored the Giants’ three-goal lead as the rain came down harder and the wind howled fiercely.
“We’ve played in some bad weather, but that was probably the worst,” Ramser said.
San Marin’s Abby Bartholo scored the first of her game-high four goals to cut the deficit to two goals, before Mihara and Jeffers scored in the closing minutes of the first half for a 6-2 Giants lead.
“We’ve had different players come up big every game, but seniors Annika Danne and Justine Fisch really took control today,” Yee said. “They’ve been a big factor for us all season, and they took a leadership role today.”
Players on both sides were feeling the pain more from the elements than the physical play. Shivering in the freezing cold, players huddled under warming blankets. During the break, they sought shelter anywhere they could.
The wind, rain and hail that plagued the first half gave way for a few minutes after halftime, and with the change in weather came a change in momentum as San Marin increased the pressure on Redwood in the second half. The Mustangs went on a 3-2 run, with Mustang goals from Bartholo, Alex Chamberlain and Cassie Rees.
San Marin closed to within two goals with just more than six minutes left to play as Rees flung the ball to Chamberlain, who curled around for her second goal of the game.
Danne and Peterson scored to boost the Giants’ lead to 11-7 before Bartholo ended the game with one last goal in the closing seconds.
“We knew Redwood would play a good game,” Ramser said. “We played a tough second half but we couldn’t overcome the deficit from the first half.”