The Birmingham Unified girl’s lacrosse team went into their highly-anticipated game against cross-town rival Marian with a perfect record on the season.
Despite a hard fought game, Birmingham suffered their first loss of the season, losing to Marian 9-8.“We all went into that game really wanting to win,” junior Annie Sevec said. “But once we were on the field it seemed like Marian had a bigger desire to beat us.”
Marian came out of the gates strong scoring the first three goals of the game to jump out to a 3-0 lead early in the first half.
Birmingham spent most of the first half playing catch-up, as they tried to make up for the ground they lost early in the game.
After scoring two straight goals to end the half, Birmingham was able to come back and tie up the game.
With the score 5-5 at halftime, the momentum seemed to be on Birmingham’s side heading into the second half.
But it was the same story in the second half, as Birmingham fell behind 9-5 and spent the rest of the game furiously attempting to come-back.
Birmingham cut the lead to 9-8 but was unable to score on their final possessions, which resulted in a 9-8 loss, dropping Birmingham’s record to 7-1.
Senior captain Ava Stachelski led Birmingham with three goals, and junior Hailee Schuele also netted in two goals.
After having the original game rescheduled due to weather, both teams highly anticipated this matchup. Unfortunately for Birmingham, they were unable to deliver.
“It was a big game, but unfortunately we didn’t deliver,” Schuele said. “However, the season is far from over and we are ready to do what it takes to finish hard.”
The team continues to work hard in anticipation of a re-match against Marian in the state playoffs.
Last season, Birmingham ended Marian’s season after defeating them in districts. There is a good chance that the two teams may meet again in districts, and the Birmingham players definitely want another crack at the Mustangs.
“We did not play our best game,” Sevec said. “and it showed in the outcome because it was our first loss of the season.
But we know we can beat them when we see them again in districts where it really counts.”
