The Lady Vikes are back and ready to dominate the field. The Palo Alto High School girls lacrosse team began its season with a crushing 14-4 loss to Monta Vista High School, but quickly bounced back with consecutive 14-1 victories against both Los Alto High School and Leland High School. In their most recent match against Gunn, they won 10-7.
The varsity squad ended last season on a high note, losing only one league game and winning the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) championship. Although they lost key players Maya Benatar, Reid Walters, Meredith Kinnaman, Kylie Callan, Holly Tumminaro, Mikayla Spaizman and Chelsea McIntosh, the squad still has high hopes for the rest of the season. They have welcomed juniors Julie Cornfield, Sarah Shader, Zoe Dooley and Michaela Fogarty to the team.
“Our first few games have gone really well,” said junior and defender Maddie Hare, who has been on the varsity lacrosse team since her freshman year. “We of course miss our graduated seniors, but we haven’t missed a beat and we are able to be just as competitive of a team without them.”
Although the team has been successful in recent years, they remain dedicated to improving their technique in the upcoming season.
“There are things that we could have tightened up and things we are working to get better at in the future,” said Hare, referencing their 16-6 thumping of Saratoga High School on March 10. “But we can’t complain about the score!”
Although the Vikes have had a promising start to the season, they’ve still encountered a few of bumps along the road to victory. Their goalkeeper, senior Matilda Kenrick, has been ruled ineligible to play for the rest of the season due to CCS requirements.
“I did an exchange year last year in Sweden… and since I didn’t go with a program it’s called an ABA transfer (from school A to school B to school A again),” said Kenrick. “Since I played lacrosse in Sweden (even though it was a Rec league) I’m not eligible to play here because I am a transfer student.”
Since it is unlikely that Kenrick will be able to play later in the season, teammates have been filling in for her between the posts.
However, Kenrick is still optimistic about the rest of the season, and the team has remained successful in her absence, winning three out of the past four games.
“We’re off to a pretty strong start and I have a lot of confidence in the team, I think we’re gonna do well this season,” said Kenrick.
Their next game is on March 31. against Los Altos High School.
