The girls lacrosse season came to an end on Friday, April 29, against Vero Beach High School in the regional finals match. The team faced Vero Beach during the regular season and beat them 7-6 in an intense match up. In the playoff rematch, Vero Beach gained a big lead, and held it for the rest of the game. 

“We were all really prepared and knew we just needed the ball to do what our coaches asked for., and we had so much energy whether it was on the sideline or on the field,” attacker Ainsley Pomp said. “Our team didn’t give up until the last whistle blew.”

Captain Hannah Thomas scored all of the team’s goals in the loss and defender Elena Hill had five draw controls. Unfortunately, it was not enough for the team to secure the win. 

“We had the individual skills to win that game against them, but we were just having a really hard time communicating on the field, and communication is key,” Thomas said. 

Besides this season-ending loss, the team had a lot of success. They went 16-7 and had a tough schedule, facing teams like IMG Academy, Bartram Trail, Vero Beach and other out-of-state teams ranked in the top five. They also made program history this year, beating Vero Beach early on in the season by one point. 

“This was a very big win for us. We knew we had to play our best because they were going to come out strong and we really wanted to prove something to them,” Pomp said. 

As the team moved into postseason play they started off districts hot, Beating Timber Creek 20-0 in the district quarterfinals, and securing the district title against Winter Park with a 19-1 win. 

“We all felt super excited to keep moving on in the postseason. I was nervous for regionals but also excited and ready to play,” Thomas said. 

The team kept the same momentum from districts and rolled through quarterfinals and semifinals with huge wins over Boone High School, 19-2 and Windermere High School 16-1. Winning those two games sent them to the finals where they would face Vero Beach once again, this time to see who was moving onto the final four. 

“We were practicing for weeks for one of our toughest games this year. Which we knew was going to be our regional final game against Vero Beach,” Pomp said. 

The game plan going into the game against Vero Beach was to be better and stronger than them. The team’s game plan wasn’t much different from when they faced them in the normal season. They made sure to improve on their weaknesses from the normal season game and had high energy. 

“Our practice before that game was one of our best practices of the season,” Pomp said. “We were very focused. 

Once the team started losing their draws, however, Vero Beach gained a big lead over the team in the first half, they started to feel defeated as they moved into the second half of the game. After halftime they came out unenthusiastic, and weren’t executing their game plan. 

They managed to start a comeback, and score three goals, but it wasn’t enough to keep the team in the game.

“We had been working on a certain play for this specific team and we got it to work in the second half and I really thought it gave us a boost at that point during the game,” Pomp said. 

 They lost 13-3, and their season came to an end. It was a hard, disappointing loss for the team, since they had already beat them in a tough match up prior. Overall they are still proud of themselves and the season they had this year. Ending their normal season strong, and having that momentum carry them through postseason play is not something most teams can do, and they executed that well. 

“That wasn’t the outcome we had expected, but I think we had a pretty good postseason this year,” Pomp said. “Obviously our ultimate goal would have been to make it further but we still accomplished a lot this season and postseason.” 

Gallery | 4 Photos

photo by Isabella Guise

Ella Digore runs down the field with the ball. The team won against Timber Creek in the regional quarterfinal game.