Sweat dripped off the player’s brow as she raced to stop the advances of the other team. With one last stride, she cut off the runner and scooped up the ball, changing from defense to offense. Two rounds of overtime later in sweltering conditions, the trophy was theirs. Despite the 90 degrees weather and intense humidity, Freedom High School’s Varsity girls lacrosse team played like never before, winning the Regional title and going straight to semi-finals.
Hardly a minute went by before Emily Maier scored the first goal of the regional lacrosse game on Tuesday, May 28. The girls bulldozed the Potomac Falls Panthers for the duration of the first half. They were always two steps, or goals, ahead of them. Julia Riley made three goals out of the nine but was up against Mason Whitmore, who made four out of the six Panther goals in the first half. Freedom was up, but the heat became a real problem as the game progressed.
Potomac Falls leaped back onto the playing field, scoring seven goals rapid fire. Freedom struggled to keep up and stop the advances of Potomac Falls, but in the last three minutes of the second half, Potomac Falls was up 13 to 12. Parents were screaming on both sides of the field, but the Freedom girls didn’t stop pushing. They scored with two minutes and 45 seconds left on the clock. They were tied 13 to 13 and went straight to overtime.
With only three minutes, each team fought to be the first to score, despite their sore legs and aching lungs. Towards the end of the round, Freedom was on the defensive and Potomac Falls was poised to score. The attempt was made and Potomac Falls’ fan base rang cowbells, thinking they won. But, there was another noise that came sooner than the bells, the buzzer. The time ran out and the goal did not count. Angry parents yelled loud and clear as the second round of overtime began. Mustering up all of their energy, being smart about their placements on the field, and continuously passing, Freedom scored. The Varsity Girls Lacrosse nailed their spot in semi-finals.
Photo provided by Madeline Heyburn
