Under a setting sun and the bright Warrior Bowl floodlights, the Westwood varsity girls lacrosse team began their first game of the year against the Bowie Bulldogs on Thursday, Feb. 12. The Warriors’ season opener provided an opportunity for the players to find their footing, testing both new talent and team chemistry. Through an early lead and consistently strong offensive and defensive plays throughout the game, the Warriors took home the 13-1 victory and set a powerful precedent for the season ahead. 

“I feel confident going into the season,” Isabelle Horonzy ‘26 said. “This is a great start for us, and I’m super proud of my team.” 

With Ana Jovanovich ‘27 starting the draw, the Warriors took quick possession of the ball, landing a goal 20 seconds into the game and setting the stage with a 1-0 lead. Bowie took control of the ball following the next draw, running the ball towards the Warriors’ goal. A well timed interception by Elly Howell ‘26 gave the Warriors the offensive edge again, allowing Howell an undefended goal to set the score at 2-0. 

“I think this was one of the best games that me, personally, and the whole team have played,” Howell said. “[As a new team captain], I felt trusted to be on that field and that added to my performance. Working together has made everyone a better player in general, and it’s affected me for sure.”

The Warriors continued to maintain a strong defense as the first quarter continued, with a clean save from Piper Beal ‘27 that gave the Warriors the ball again. Horonzy took advantage of the possession to land another goal, expanding the Warriors’ lead to 3-0. 

“During this game, I think we saw good attempts in passing and transitions, but also good rundowns,” Horonzy said. “That’s something new this season. We have a lot of talent and I’m seeing a lot more push towards attack.”

The newness of the season was reflected in the start of the game, as repeated ground balls made the Warriors alternate between defense and offense several times. Capitalizing on a weaker Bulldog offense, Jovanovich intercepted the ball, running it down to score after an assist from Horonzy, setting the Warriors up 4-0. Maintaining the Warriors’ offensive momentum, Howell landed a clean goal to end the first quarter with a 5-0 Warrior lead.

“I’ve done a lot of training with lacrosse and with the team, and I think all of us have set this such a high bar for the first game,” Howell said. “Even though [the game] wasn’t our best, I want to see the teamwork we did in this game continue.”

Going into the second quarter, the Warriors took a defensive position, with the Bulldogs strengthening their offense to pressure the Warrior goal several times. As both the Bulldog and Warrior defense held strong, the ball went back and forth down the field with neither team scoring. At five minutes into the quarter, Horonzy finally broke through the Bulldog defense with a goal, advancing the score 6-0. A clean assist from Jovanovich to Cara Bucklin ‘26 came soon after for a 7-0 lead. The Warrior’s offense revitalized, Howell scored another goal to end the quarter, bringing the score to 8-0 at halftime. 

“What really helped this game was the assists,” Horonzy said. “I think that we noticed that Bowie was not tight when we were cutting through the middle of the eight, so we used that to our advantage and looked for the open cutters, and then that resulted in more goals.”

The girls started the second half looking to continue their sweep. The Bulldogs had a similar idea, pushing back on the Warrior offense despite their increased agility. Persistent, the Warriors eventually broke through the Bowie defense, with Jovanovich scoring a goal with under five minutes left in the quarter. Another goal by new talent Bonnie Rose Hance ‘29 came less than four minutes later, almost ensuring a Warrior win with a 10-0 score at the end of the third quarter. 

“I think everyone has the work ethic to grow,” Horonzy said. “We have a lot of coachable talent, and I’m already seeing improvements from the start of the game to now. We started kind of sloppy and frantic, and I think everyone needed a little more confidence in their ball carrying and stick-work abilities. Towards the second half, we made that adjustment and picked it up.”

The game’s final quarter saw continued pressure from the Warrior offense, with the girls frequently closing in on the Bulldog’s goal. Goals from Sarah Acosta ‘27 and Horonzy sandwiched the Bulldogs’ first goal of the game, keeping an soaring Warrior lead at 12-1 with four minutes left in the game. The last seconds of the game saw a final offensive win for the Warriors, with the Warriors scoring a final goal to close the game with a 13-1 win over the Bulldogs.

Throughout the game, the Warriors saw seven different goal scorers, an incredible offensive feat setting a high bar for the rest of the season. 

“Last season was not like this,” Horonzy said. “We had a few really good, strong goal scorers, but it has to be a whole team that wins a game, with everyone on attack and everyone on defense. This season, we already have all the attackers and midfielders scoring goals, so I’m really proud.”

Going forth into the rest of the season, the team takes their win against the Bulldogs as strong precedent. After making it into the final four in the state the previous year, the girls anticipate their new and old talent helping them advance even further. The Warriors will play their next game at Anderson against the Trojans on Thursday, Feb. 19.

“We have a lot of potential going forward,” Horonzy said. “We made it so close last year, and it’s almost like we tasted it and want to go back. Coming off this first game, the momentum is moving in our direction. We want to keep pushing, keep the ball rolling. I’m excited for the year.”