Girls’ varsity lacrosse: The winning streak comes to an end

BY OLIVIA LEWIS

On Friday, March 8, the Cooper City Cowboys girls’ varsity lacrosse team played their sixth game of the season at home against the South Plantation Paladins. The game started at 5:30 p.m., with each team arriving at 4:15 p.m. for warm-ups. The Cowboys fought hard for the entirety of the game but fell short one point, losing with a score of 12-11 and making their record 6-2.

“We know what we need to work on, fix and clean up. I’m sure we can use this game to better reference the next to come.”

The Cowboys have always had intense games against South Plantation since they’re one of the stronger teams in the county. For the past three years, the Cowboys have beat them in either overtime or by a couple of goals. This year, the Paladins came looking for redemption and beat the Cowboys, breaking their three-year winning streak.  

The game started promptly at 5:30 pm., as each team took to the field and waited for the draw. The referee walked to the center circle, where midfielder Grace Barr was waiting to take the draw. The referee put the ball in the player’s stick and blew the whistle. Barr quickly jumped up with her stick, securing the ball and passing it to her teammate, Rylee Horton.

The Cowboys were trying to defend as hard as possible, but the Paladins were cutting in and out, making it difficult to stay on one person.

The Cowboys came out flying, trying to pass the ball around the attack. Cooper City kept their composure and waited for passing lanes to open up. They did this the entire first half, allowed them to score seven goals. Horton scored five goals, Barr scored one goal and Hailey Brown scored one. Although the Cowboys scored a lot of goals, they also struggled on defense and allowed to Paladins to score as well.

“We performed well and just got unlucky with some goals,” Barr said. “We know what we need to work on, fix and clean up. I’m sure we can use this game to better reference the next to come.”

At halftime, Coach Bill O’Connell called his girls over and had a talk with them. They discussed ways to calm the game down and how to use their special plays. The girls talked about things that needed to be fixed to succeed for the rest of the game. The halftime whistle blew, and the players took the field.

“I think we did good this week,” Horton said. “We had some tough competition, but overall we did well as a team. We will only get better from here.”

Barr was on the draw again, trying to win as many as possible. The girls were off and South Plantation had possession of the ball for the majority of the second half. Horton picked up several ground balls, trying to open up opportunities for herself and her teammates. The Cowboys were trying to defend as hard as possible, but the Paladins were cutting in and out, making it difficult to stay on one person.

The Cowboys put up a good fight, but the Paladins were able to secure a goal in the last minute of the game, winning by one point. Horton scored three more goals and Marley Patterson scored one as well.

“I think we did good this week,” Horton said. “We had some tough competition, but overall we did well as a team. We will only get better from here.”

Although the Cowboys are disappointed with their loss, they will continue to practice during the week to get better for districts. The Cowboys’ next game will be on March 11 against Cardinal Gibbons High School.

“I hope that we will be able to make it to districts and win this year,” Patterson said.

Photo by Carly Cuoco