Girls lacrosse: Marin Catholic punches ticket to MCAL final
The Marin Catholic girls lacrosse team is checking off its to-do list, as the Wildcats seek to bring girls lacrosse gold back home for the first time in more than four years.
The third-seeded Wildcats, who lost in the regular season to both the teams seeded above them, took the first step toward an MCAL title with Wednesday’s 11-4 victory over No. 2 Redwood in Larkspur.
“After losing to Redwood the last two games we played each other, there was some incentive,” said Marin Catholic’s Sarah Press, who scored four goals to help send the Wildcats to Saturday’s MCAL championship game against top-seeded Tam.
None of this season’s Wildcats were on the roster in 2019, the last time Marin Catholic won the MCAL girls championship. Winning the title and putting a stamp on this season is the next big item on the Wildcats’ list. Standing in their way is regular-season champion Tam, which defeated Marin Catholic 14-9 in their last meeting.
“With the team we have, we can win,” Press said.
The Giants defeated the Wildcats,13-12, in the 2022 MCAL championship, then went on to win the North Coast Section Division I crown. Redwood edged the Wildcats again, 11-10, two weeks ago in a regular-season matchup.
“It’s always a battle between these two teams,” Redwood coach Lauren Yee said. “It doesn’t matter which team is the most talented or who is the least talented. Somehow, it always turns into a battle.”
Tuesday’s matchup was a close battle through the first half, which ended with the Wildcats leading 6-3, but only after fighting off a Redwood surge. The Giants struck first as Lucy Miller fed Presley Pewitt as the net opened up in front of her barely 5 1/2 minutes into the game.
Marin Catholic’s Libby Irving ignited a three-goal rally with an unassisted goal to the right side of Giants goalkeeper Emily Turkington, who had seven saves. Press advanced the attack with back-to-back goals in the next two minutes to give the Wildcats a 3-1 lead.
The Giants regrouped quickly as Maya Minahara bounced a shot across the crease and past Noelle Antongiovanni, who had seven saves. Lucy Jeffers scored the tying goal on a penalty shot with 10 minutes left in the first half.
Some of the best lacrosse talent in Marin County was on display as the relatively young Giants refused to surrender their crown easily. The Wildcats proved to have the stamina, despite the soaring temperatures.
“We started about six freshmen,” Yee said. “But this season is not about how young we are, but about finding roles. The girls have learned a lot from our seniors.”
Redwood nearly retook the lead as another Jeffers shot entered the net, but the goal was waved off as the officials had already blown the whistle on a Marin Catholic penalty before she released the ball.
Marin Catholic closed out the half with three goals in final three minutes by Press and Audrey Carr, who led all players with five goals.
“Really, everybody stepped up,” Press said, with Carr echoing her statement. “This wasn’t just a bunch of individuals. This was a team playing as a unit.”
Redwood showed a spark of life as Jeffers opened the second half with her second goal of the game, but Press then scored the next three goals to put the game nearly out of reach with less than 10 minutes left to play.
Marin Catholic’s Audrey Niedermeyer closed out the scoring as she took a high pass across the crease and in one motion sent the ball into the net with 2:32 left to play.
“This isn’t the end, there’s a lot more to come with the MCAL championship and NCS,” Marin Catholic’s Skylar Schroth said. The NCS selection meeting is scheduled for Sunday.
Other scores
- The top-seeded Tam girls defeated No. 4 San Marin 13-2 on Wednesday to advance to Saturday’s MCAL championship game against Marin Catholic. Madi Smith paced the Red-tailed Hawks with three goals and two assists. Annie Shane, Carson Cann, Graciela Hale and Lucy Hexamer had two goals apiece. Goalie Jamie Lemberg made five saves.
- The third-seeded Tam High boys defeated No. 2 Marin Catholic 5-4.