As a writer, rarely do you get the opportunity to cover a game with so many different storylines and plot twists. Fortunately I had that opportunity as the Girls Varsity Lacrosse team battled cross-town rival Campo in a Friday night lights game.
Even before the game began, both teams knew what was at stake. Acalanes hadn’t beaten Campo since 2019. The Dons needed a win to secure a spot in the NCS playoffs. The Dons were looking for payback as they lost a 13-12 contest at Campo earlier in the season as the Cougars played keep away for the last couple minutes to run out the clock.
In addition, it was Senior Night for the Dons, with Megan Churchill (#15), Lucca DeBiasse (#5), Campbell Evans (#4), Addie McShane (#30), Taylor Mikalis (#18), and Claire Zimmerman (#3) (who also sang the National Anthem) being honored pre-game. Junior Amin Noroozi, who tragically passed away, was also recognized pre-game with a moment of silence.
Against that backdrop, the Dons led for most of the game but let a late lead slip away, culminating in a game tying goal with 8 seconds left in regulation. Perhaps inspired by the dance party atmosphere that ensued when AC/DC’s Thunderstruck was played on the sound system after regulation, the Dons managed to recover and pull out a victory as Megan scored the game winning, sudden death goal with 7 seconds left in overtime. Pandemonium ensued.
On offense, Sophomore Grace Colaco (#10) filled up the stat sheet with a remarkable 12 draw controls (more than would fit in the scoring book) against several different Cougars to go along with 3 goals. Junior Emily Roberts (#22) also scored 3 goals. In addition to her game winning goal and one other goal, Megan also dished out 6 assists to lead the team in that category. Other goals were scored by Campbell, Lucca, Junior Reese Imrie (#17), and Sophomore Catalina Liu (#20). Sophomore Stella Hamilton (#6) nearly scored twice as she had one goal waived off, and another shot carom off the post.
On defense, Claire, Addie, Sophomores Reese Tierney (#21) and Grace Eppinger (#7), and others kept the Cougars at bay. Reese had a couple great plays, including a nice steal and run downfield. Junior Goalie Sara Hession (#75) recorded 5 saves on the day.
The girls truly put on a show for the fans in this game. Please come out and root for them again Tuesday as they look to keep the momentum in the NCS Playoffs. Go Dons!!
The girls start NCS D1 Playoffs on Tuesday on the road against #1 overall seed San Ramon Valley
Additional pictures from the game can be found here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Dbh1nZ9JnC5aJk4L9