Gainesville Girls Lacrosse Battle for Districts

On Monday, Gainesville High School sent its girls’ lacrosse team to the 1A District 4 tournament. The Lady Canes were going into the game with five wins and eight losses for their overall season. They played against the Santa Fe Raiders, and they played the Raiders the previous week, coming up short against them 20-15.

Fight For Control

Gainesville started the game with the upper hand after winning the first draw leading to the first goal of the night by Claire Hutton, Senior, with an assist from Celeste Flory from behind the goal. Hutton got another shot in against the Raiders within the next minute leaving the score 2-0. The adrenaline was high after getting two quick shots but there was still a lot of time. The Gainesville Hurricanes began to lose the next draws and Santa Fe kept getting possession, gaining momentum.

With almost 11 minutes left in the first half, the Raiders now had a leg up against the Hurricanes with 4-5. The Raiders took control of the pace of the game and adapted their defense to guard one of Gainesville’s lethal midfielders, Claire Hutton. Although she is one of their top scorers, Hutton also leads the team in turnovers. One of the best goals of the night was by Amy Bush, Senior, who won possession in the face-off and drove down the field to score by rolling the crease. Bush tied the game 6-6, causing Santa Fe to take a timeout.

All tied up for the GHS hurricanes against the Raiders. 6-6 pic.twitter.com/gA5wAJ1Avk

— bryce mitchell (@brycelmitch) April 11, 2022

Gainesville was up 8-7 by halftime.

Losing Momentum

Having previously lost to the Raiders, the Hurricanes had a spirit of revenge for this game, especially it being the district tournament game. But, the Lady Canes seemed to have lost their fight during the second half. It seemed that they were kept in the game by luck from charges and blocks made by the Raiders.

Goalie, Daisja Penny, was unable to deflect and save as many shots in the second half as the first half and the Raiders slowed down their offense to gain control. The Raiders took the highest lead on the Hurricanes after feisty defender Savannah Ferrell checked the ball on the Raiders’ attacker, but was unable to follow through with the steal and the Raiders scored, now 10-13. The Raiders began shooting with ease on Daisja Penny with a fast precision that the Lady Canes couldn’t stop. With the last run to try and score, Amy Bush shot the ball at the buzzer, but the goal ultimately wasn’t counted. The final score was 11-15, favoring Santa Fe.

Closing Out

Although Gainesville didn’t come out on top, the girls played hard and fought aggressively. The game was back and forth and was tied up until the last eight minutes. The Lady Canes can look ahead to next season and what that might bring.