Gainesville Girls Lacrosse Downs Matanzas For 18-5 Win

The Gainesville High School girls lacrosse team dominated Matanzas at home Tuesday night for an 18-5 win that improves the Hurricanes’ record to 14-3, one of the best in program history.

Matanzas’ Zoe Alred was the first to score in the first quarter thanks to an assist from Addison Alred. Gainesville’s Rebecca Kim went on to equalize with six minutes left. Then, Sicily Cannella closed out the first quarter with a goal, bringing the score to GHS 2-1.

Though the Pirates (5-6) were able to score twice more in the second quarter, they quickly fell behind as GHS gained momentum. The Hurricanes scored 11 times in just the second quarter. The goals were scored by six different players, a testament to the team’s depth. Karly Walser scored three times, while Lilian Michelini, Seyran Kepic and Rebecca Kim each scored twice. Libby Rant and Taylor Carr also scored, bringing the score to 13-3 GHS at the end of the first half.

As GHS took the lead, fans from Matanzas continued to voice their support for their team. A group of students traveled two hours to watch the team play in Gainesville. Their chants and words of encouragement never faltered, even as the Pirates’ chances of winning dwindled.

Growing Lead

The Pirates were able to score twice in the second half, with Addison Alred scoring again in the third quarter and Amirah Kardas scoring in the fourth. However, it was not enough to overcome Gainesville’s lead. GHS scored five more times in the last two quarters for its second win of the week.

Up Next

The Hurricanes will celebrate Senior Night and face Newberry (6-3) at home at 6 p.m. Thursday. Matanzas will play Mandarin (7-4) in Jacksonville on Thursday at 6 p.m.