Girls lacrosse finishes season with league title

Vikings achieve feat second year in a row

The girls lacrosse team finished their regular season with a 16-1 overall score and won the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) championship for the third time in history.

On May 5, the last game of the regular season, the Lady Vikes won with a score of 16-2 over Mountain View High School. This was also senior night, in which the outgoing seniors were honored for their hard work and contribution to the team’s success.

On Wednesday, May 13, the team faced Saratoga High School, the same team they have faced twice throughout the regular season and defeated last year by a score of 15-13, which lead them to win a SCVAL championship title.

The Lady Vikes won their semi-final game in SCVAL with a score of 16-10. The game included several goals from seniors Lauren Gargiulo, Claire Chevallier, Allie Peery, Paige Bara, Liana Pickrell, Amalia Roth and juniors Maya Benatar and Holly Tumminaro.

After defeating Saratoga, the Lady Vikes advanced to the championship game which was held on Saturday, May 16. The team faced cross town rival Henry M. Gunn High School and won the SCVAL championship with a score of 12-11. The team faced Gunn twice throughout the season.

The game was tied all throughout the second half with a score of 10-10. By the end of the first overtime period, each team had scored one goal, making the game tied 11-11.

Junior Meredith Kinnaman, the team’s goalkeeper, made six saves during the first half of the game and four during the second half as well as another save during overtime.

During the second overtime period, Peery scored the winning goal which lead the Lady Vikes to victory and another SCVAL championship title.

According to Kinnaman, the team was very successful due to the dedication each player put on the field.

“Everyone was always putting in their best effort and really wanted the best for the team,” Kinnaman said. “Everyone supported each other on and off the field. It’s really awesome to play on a team and know that everyone has your back through thick and thin.”

The majority of the girls lacrosse team this year was made up of seniors. According to Kinnaman, next year’s team will have to adjust to make up for the loss of seniors.

“The seniors this year were a really special group of girls. They contributed a lot to the team, on and off the field, and they will for sure be missed a lot next year,” Kinnaman said. “I think going into next year it will definitely be a rebuilding year for our team, but we have a lot of amazing talent in the junior class and a lot of really great underclassman . . . if we come back next year and play our best and really come together as a team we will be just as successful as we were this year.”