The Palo Alto girls’ lacrosse team fell to the Sacred Heart Gators 20-15 on Wednesday night. Despite the loss, coach Jamie Nesbitt feels that the team tried its best.

“I think it went really well, I’m really proud of how the girls played. I think they left it all on the field and competed against a really good team,” Nesbitt said.

The Vikings started off the game strong after Allie Peery (‘15) scored the first goal of the game following the initial draw. However, the Gators countered and were able to score three consecutive goals. Following two blocks by Vikings goalie Meredith Kinnaman (‘16), Peery was able to score two more goals.

Kinnaman had an impressive block, but the Gators were able to find the back of the net for their fourth goal of the game. Ami Drez (‘14) was able to score her first goal of the night for the Vikings, but the Gators quickly followed with another set of three goals. The Vikings fought back with three additional goals by Drez, Maya Benatar (‘16) and Kristen Destefano (‘14), but the Gators were able to hold onto their 8-7 lead at the half.

The second half started off strong for the Vikings with Paige Bara (‘15) scoring her first goal of the night during the first play of the half. The momentum continued and Drez was able to score her third and final goal of the night. The Gators found the back of the net for their first goal of the second half, but the Vikings returned with Benatar scoring her second goal of the game. Following a block from Kinnaman, the Gators countered and were able to score three more consecutive goals.

The Vikings and the Gators fought back and forth, each scoring two additional goals. However, the Gators were able to further increase their lead following three more goals. Both Peery and Bara scored again, but the Gators were able to score three additional goals before the half ended. The Gators held onto their lead and defeated the Vikings 20-15.

Peery agrees with Nesbitt and thinks her team gave it their all against the Gators despite the loss.

“Overall we just hustled really hard in that game, even leading up to it for a really long time. We all knew it was going to be hard,” Peery said. “In the second half we had a hard time keeping possession and winning the draws and it was really tough, they have a lot of great players that can handle the ball, go both ways, and it was a very hard fought game but we did the best that we could”.

The Lady Vikes will play next against the Mountain View High School on Friday, April