 | | | Lauren Doughtery (14) had a hat trick for the Mats. Photos Andy Scheck
| | | | | | As we near the end of the girls' lacrosse season, the Lamorinda schools are making their final push for the playoffs. As of Sunday, the Acalanes Dons led the DFAL with an unblemished 5-0-0 record in league, 6-6 overall. Cross-town rivals Miramonte (4-1-0, 7-3-0) and Campolindo (4-3-0, 7-5-0) fall to third and fourth places behind Las Lomas in the standings.
On Wednesday, April 18 Miramonte hosted Campolindo for the teams' first match against each other. Miramonte fought off the Cougars, 15-7, to remain solidly in third place.
The first 25 minutes the Mats executed offensively while Campo struggled. Still, the game was close mid-way through the first, with Campo tying it up at 3-3 at one point.
The Mats pulled away just before half time. Miramonte reeled off four unanswered goals, including one with eight second left in the first half, to extend their lead to 7-3.
Miramonte used the second half to build on their lead. The Mats struck quickly coming out of halftime going up 8-3.
Campo answered and gained some momentum but could not capitalize on scoring opportunities. The Mats avoided a late surge by the Cougars to record the 15-7 finish.
"We really came together today, everyone was contributing. It was a great team effort, I'm happy with the performance and I think the girls should be proud of themselves," said coach Alexandra Tickner.
Miramonte's offense was lead by four players, who each had hat tricks: Lauren Dougherty, Hannah Friel, Rachel Pursell and Mary Doyle.
In comparison, Campo had a balanced attack with seven different players scoring their seven goals.
"We don't get the chance to practice on a full field so it really hurts us in our transition game, and at this level you can't make mistakes," said coach Mike Shumate said of his team's struggles.
The Cougars will get a rematch on May 11, the last game of the season. Campo bounced back from the loss and defeated Alhambra 19-1 on Friday. They played Acalanes yesterday after the press deadline.
Miramonte played Dublin yesterday and takes on Acalanes on April 27.
After a slow 0-6 start, Acalanes has bounced back to win their last six games. This is the Dons' first season in Division I.
Miramonte is in position to grab at least a share of the lead if they continue their success and Acalanes slips up. Campolindo has some work to do with only six games left in the season. Only the top finisher will earn the automatic bid to the post season.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA