Being the underdogs is never a great place to be. It’s no fun unless you create an upset. The last few games my team has been in a little bit of a slump. We have been practicing like we do not care and things were just not clicking for us. A while ago we played Sienna College and we should have beaten them by more than we did, but we ended up playing very poorly, and only won by 2.
So, it was new day on Thursday and it was practice time. Things were not going well. Our defense was getting flustered and our attack could not connect with good passes and plays. We had now gotten to a point in our season where the next game could make or break us.
Before we even got onto the field on Friday afternoon, we had beaten 3 school records for woman’s lacrosse that I do not think many people at school even knew existed. We have won the most games ever in one season, we have played in the only shut out game where we beat Binghamton 23 to 0, and in the same game we broke a record of the highest score ever in a woman’s lacrosse game here at QU.
A lot of fans showed up for the game on Friday which was really great, the weather was beautiful, and of course like always our coach gave a pre-game speech that took us on a “ride.” The theme of her speech was that things were never going to be the same.
The team would change, we would lose seniors and, and this would be the one and only time we would all be together like this, having broken 3 school records and playing our hearts out. Before we left the locker room our assistant coach handed our little packets with our number on them. We were told that in each packet was magic fairy dust that was going to help our magic carpet ride us to success.
So now it was game time. On April 5, my team and I took the field with our heads held high and our determination greater than I have ever seen it.
We walked out in lines of 2 following our captains and screaming things to intimidate the other team. I have never been more nervous for a game in my whole life, and think it is because I knew that this day was going to set the pace for the rest of the season. We all scattered around the field and dropped our cake sprinkles, or “magic pixie dust” on areas of the field that we thought we may need some help in.
From the very first whistle of the game I knew that we were going to win. Our attack took smart shots, our goalie was on fire, and of course our defense was ready to protect our home. We scored the first goal of the game and we kept that lead until the very last second of play. The attitude of my team was one I have never seen before. We played like a team who really loved lacrosse. We played like a team who would die for each other. And most of all we played like a team who wanted to win.
We sent Mount St. Mary’s back to Maryland with a few bumps and bruises, but most importantly we send them home with a loss, and we are still undefeated at home.
I want to congratulate Megan, our goalie for once again showing us what it’s like to play with heart. Our captain, Jesse for really taking control of the team when we need to be held together … and our other captain, Marta, with 110 goals for breaking one more school record for the most goals ever by one player in woman’s lacrosse.