Lady Panthers beat McIntosh on senior night to clinch region
A Panther player charges down the field in the first half of a game against McIntosh. Senior Alyssa Sack led the way in the game, scoring four goals in the first half and assisting on another. The 18-10 win clinched the region championship and puts the Panthers at 10-5 overall and 8-0 in region play.
April 26, 2016
Although the Lady Panthers lacrosse team has had it’s struggles against non-region teams this season, they’ve managed to keep their spirits high and it paid off in a big way on Friday night.
The Panthers beat McIntosh 18-10 to clinch the region championship, as senior Alyssa Sack scored four goals to give the team its sixth win in seven games.
“[The girls] have been working hard for this all season,” coach Taylor Sweeney said. “One of the goals for any program here at Starr’s Mill is to beat McIntosh, and we haven’t done it in a long time. It makes it that much sweeter that it clinched the region championship.”
In the girls’ lacrosse game Friday night, a Panther player looks for a pass to the middle. The girls won against their crosstown rivals, pulling them into an undefeated regional season.
The Lady Panthers now sit at 10-5 on the season and are undefeated in region play at 8-0. That record in region was challenged early in the game against the Chiefs, with McIntosh scoring the first two goals of the game in the first five minutes.
Starr’s Mill responded soon after, with junior Mary Ellis Goins scoring off an assist by fellow junior Ashley Broderick with 18:57 left in the first half. Freshman Caroline Andrews tied the game a little over three minutes later off an assist by senior Rachel Pilato.
The teams traded goals for the next 10 minutes, with Pilato, Goins, and freshman Alyssa Angelo scoring for the Panthers. Starr’s Mill finally started to pull away with the lead when Sack took control, going on a 6-2 run in the last 8:22 of the half. She scored four goals and assisted on another as the Panthers took an 11-7 lead to the break.
“I think we wore them out throughout the game,” Sack said. “I wanted to win this game really bad, and the team played with so much hustle. It just feels really good.”
The second half started opposite of the first, with Starr’s Mill scoring the first two goals in the first six minutes and McIntosh scoring the next two. However, McIntosh was only able to score one more time in the half with 6:03 left in the game.
A Lady Panther looks for an opportunity to get to the goal in Friday night’s contest against McIntosh on senior night. “It’s a great way to bring the regular season to it’s close,” senior Alyssa Sack said. “It will be great to be able to remember my senior lacrosse season here with my teammates when I look back on it.”
Goins scored her third goal of the night and Andrews and Pilato each scored two to finish up the 18-10 routing of the crosstown rival.
“This team played hard from the start and we never really got down,” Sweeney said. “We got a little lead and we were able to stretch it out and they just played awesome. All seven of our seniors played well. I’m really proud of them and it was a great way to put an exclamation mark on what they’ve done here.”
The Lady Panther’s played their last area game on Monday, April 25, in a 14-12 loss against Lovett for their first area loss of the season. They play one more game in a contest at Kennesaw High School on Friday.
However, the team has already clinched the region and a home game in the first round of the state playoffs.
“I want us to come together as a team a little more, finish strong, and then take that momentum into the playoffs,” Sack said. “Overall, just play the best lacrosse we can.”
