Beneath a waning drizzle and colorful sky, the varsity girls lacrosse team brought the energy to a delayed start against the Westlake Chaparrals for their penultimate home game on Thursday, April 9. Following a slow start marked by a strong Chaparral lead, the Warriors persisted to narrow the gap against their notoriously intense opponents, ultimately falling short and losing 12-6. 

“I’ve never seen us perform this well,” Isabelle Horonzy ‘26 said. “They’re a really tough team [to play] every single time and we’ve never beat them in my career. I knew it was going to be hard and I knew we were going to have to really push, so I was nervous. But every year we improve.”

The Warriors faced a shaky opening to the game, losing the first draw and allowing the Chaparrals the opportunity to set the lead, as their first goal came 30 seconds into the game, setting the score 1-0. The Chaparrals expanded this lead shortly thereafter, scoring twice about halfway into the first quarter and putting the Warriors behind 3-0. A save by Warrior goalie Piper Beal ‘27 gave the Warriors an offensive opportunity; Horonzy seized it, maneuvering around a close defender to put the Warriors’ first point on the board 3-1 close to the end of the first quarter. 

“I try to focus on attitude and control in games,” Beal said. “It’s really easy to start to lose our cool. I tried my best to get out of my own head, because as a goalie, it’s a really strong mental battle to receive so much offensive pressure.”

Entering the second quarter, the Warriors faced an unfortunate first draw, giving the Chaparrals the first ball and another goal less than a minute in, putting the score at 4-1. The Warriors tightened their defense against the Chaparrals, obtaining two consecutive saves and taking the turnovers as chances to try and break the Chaparrals’ defense. Another two Chaparral goals further into the quarter put the score at 6-1, widening the score gap. Starting the Warriors’ comeback, midfielder Ana Jovanovic ‘27 successfully took the ball on the next draw. After briefly losing the ball, the Warriors regained possession, and a pass to Horonzy gave her a direct shot at the Chaparral goal. With three minutes left in the quarter, Horonzy made the goal, pegging the score at 6-2. 

“We’ve really struggled with them coming out strong and [us] coming out really slow in the first quarter,” Horonzy said. “In the second quarter, all of the sudden, we’ll find a weird spark. I think that if we find that a little bit sooner, we definitely have the skill level to beat teams like this.”

The Warriors’ second wind continued, with Horonzy taking the ball again after the draw. Soon after, Jovanovic took the attack, dodging several Chaparrals and landing the ball, narrowing the Chaparral lead 6-3 to end the half. 

“I want to see us carry that momentum, but not start it in the second quarter,” Horonzy said. “It’s challenging because they switch up defense on me a lot. They’ll have someone on me for the first quarter and switch it for the second, so I have to figure out which ones I can work around and which ones [force me to] assist more.” 

Coming into the game’s second half, the Warriors again fell prey to a fast Chaparral play, and the Chaparrals took the first goal of the quarter for a 7-3 lead. Jovanovic took the ball on the second draw, navigating quickly around the defending Chaparrals for another Warrior goal and 7-4 score. On the next draw, the Warriors again took an offensive posture, persistently driving towards the Chaparral goal and attempting two shots at the net. Quickly recovering the ball after the second miss, Horonzy wrapped around the defending goal for another goal, making the score 7-5 four minutes into the quarter. 

“I think I did well reading my defender and knowing when to take the drive,” Horonzy said. “Obviously, I had some shots that didn’t go in, but most of the shots I missed hit pipes and didn’t just fall out, which is good.” 

The Chaparrals briefly regained their footing to land another two goals; the Warriors retaliated with an interception by Jovanovic, giving the Warriors possession and Horonzy another goal for a 9-6 score. After another Chaparral goal, the Warriors were again forced into a defensive position, with Beal saving the ball again twice as the third quarter ended with the Warriors tailing 10-6. 

The final quarter was characterized by several turnovers as several ground balls gave both teams the chance to reposition their offense. The Warriors tiring slightly forced them to take defense for much of the fourth, and despite several saves by Beal, slower transitions and the persisting Chaparrals put the Warriors down another point, ending the game 11-6. 

“I would want to improve on our transitions and clears moving forward,” Horonzy said. “It takes us a while to clear it out and transition the ball over and we’re getting stopped before we hit the restraining line and not quite hitting the mark. I think we need to work on that if we want to be State Champions.” 

Despite the Warriors’ loss, they remain optimistic about the rest of the season, particularly given their consistently strong performance throughout the games already played, such as their historic 11-10 win against St. Michaels. 

“I think that if we just continue with confidence and really incorporate what we’re taking away from every single game, we do have the ability to be State Champions,” Horonzy said. “We have no district losses, and I think the fact that we were so close [this game] until the last quarter gives us confidence moving forward.”

The Warriors will face the Vandegrift Vipers next on Thursday, April 16 at the Warrior Bowl for their final home game and Senior Night.