Coming off the back of a pretty solid 10 and 8 record last year, much has still been left to be desired for our Varsity Girls Lacrosse team. With the unfortunate exit in the first round of playoffs in the previous season, Coach Sydney Haag has started to put a newfound emphasis on improvement from the girls in order to progress and make North Atlanta history with this year’s roster, which is one of the most talented it has ever been. Haag and the squad are looking to start off hot, and what better way to start than a formidable opponent of River Ridge.
Going into the game, the girls were expecting a challenge to be at hand, as River Ridge has a very rich history in girl’s lacrosse. Regardless, the girls were refusing to even think about backing down and cowering at this mountain, something that Coach Haag preaches every single day. Her motto is no matter who the opponent or the challenge, you face it head on with all your effort and never settle for anything less than that. She is increasingly starting to instill this into the team, with the focus now being placed on the way practices are being run. This year, Haag has made sure to put a lot more rigor into the practicing sessions, making sure the girls are incredibly well equipped for each battle that they step into on the field. “If we’re looking to improve, it has to start on that practice field,” said Haag.
Unfortunately for the girls, the game didn’t have the most favorable start in the world, going down early 5-1 and with the game looking fairly out of favor for the majority of the first half. The switch never turned off even after the undesirable beginning to the half. Slowly creeping around the corner, our Dubs started chipping away at the lead, ending the opening half cutting the deficit to 3 and being 7-4 down with the comeback officially being on. Everyone, from the team to the crowd to even the girls on the opposing end could see the Warriors on the rise, and the girls were urged to feed off the momentum and the sheer energy being generated from the masses in the stands.
With Haag and a few of the team leaders, like star Senior Midfielders Kenzie Crow and Anna Samuelson, spreading the word to the rest of the Warriors to lead on the rebellion on the Knights, the girls understood the weight of the war and continued to persist, so much so that the middle of the second half saw the score knotted at 11-11 with the pressure of the game slowly and gradually amping up. In the final 12 or so minutes of the scrimmage, the Dubs would heavily prove themselves, with their hard work coming into fruition as the game came to the witching period. Through the leadership and rather unstoppable talent possessed by senior attacker Savannah Ivie, the team would complete the inspiring come from behind win and outscore River Ridge by 3 goals in the final portion of the second half, ultimately coming out victorious with a final score of 17-14. Junior midfielder and defender Corinne Evans, along with the rest of the squad were stoked at the dub and excited for how the rest of the season would unfold following such an impressive comeback. “It’s like we can’t stop smiling just imagining what could be with our team,” said Evans, “We’re like that.”
With such an integral win under the girls’ belt in the season opener, they look to feed off this victory high in the remainder of their season. Their next obstacle: another quality opponent of Woodstock. But the Warriors, just like in their scrimmage, aim to hunt rather than roll over and accept defeat, giving 100% out on that pitch at all times.
