The girls’ lacrosse team defeated Saratoga tonight by a score of 13-6. The Vikings took control early and never relinquished command of the game.
Paly jumped out to an early 3-0 lead less than five minutes into the game. The sister duo of Nina (‘13) and Emy (‘12) Kelty then scored a goal apiece to put the Vikings ahead 5-0 with 17:03 left in the game.
With a shutout looming, the Viking defense had a lapse in coverage and allowed Saratoga to score a goal off of an eight yard penalty shot. After scoring her team’s first goal, Saratoga’s Risha Shah (’14) scored another goal off of a penalty shot. With 13:20 left in the game the score stood 5-2, Paly.
After early difficulty, the Saratoga defense stepped up and held Paly on a nine minute scoring drought. Charlotte Biffar (‘13) broke the dry spell by scoring a goal with 8:27 left in the first half. Bria Vicenti (‘13) and Nina Kelty each added another goal to the Viking effort to increase the Paly lead to 8-2.
Saratoga was able to squeak in two more goals before the end of the half for a 8-4 halftime lead.
After their dominating first half Paly picked up right where they had left off to start the second. Julia Farino (‘13) opened the second half scoring with a goal at 23:08. Saratoga answered by getting a goal minutes later. With the score set at 9-5 Paly decided to kick it into high gear and put the game away.
Paly went on a 3-0 scoring run that killed ten minutes of the game clock. The run was highlighted by back-to-back goals from Biffar and a third by Kimmie Flather (‘12). With ten minutes left the Vikings held on to a commanding 12-5 lead.
For nine minutes the game was at a scoring standstill. Saratoga scored a goal with 1:29 left but their efforts proved to be futile. Emy Kelty silenced any looming come back by racking up one more Viking goal.
When the final horn sounded the Vikings stood victorious, 13-6.
After the dominating performance coach Jamie Nesbitt shared her feelings about the game.
“I think the girls went really hard,” Nesbitt said. “That’s the one thing I was really happy about.”
The ladies next take the field against St. Francis next Tuesday.