The Lady Panthers’ lacrosse team advanced to the Final Four for the first time in school history after defeating Sprayberry 12-7 on Saturday.
“Even though we were missing three key players, we still pulled out the win,” senior Claire Houghtaling said. “That was a big win for us. No other girls lacrosse team has ever made it to the Final Four from Starr’s Mill, and it’s so crazy to be the team that did!” In fact they are the only lacrosse team to make it to the Final Four.
According to head coach Joe Perrotta, the Lady Panthers felt confident going into the game.
“We had the home advantage and tons of fans, so we wanted to give the fans what they came for, a Panther victory.”
The Lady Panthers kept a consistent four-point lead until the last few minutes of regulation play. Tied at 7, the Lady Panthers went into overtime, which consisted of two three-minute segments.
“Going in, I knew that we had the ability to beat [Sprayberry] if we played as a team and used what we learned in practice throughout the season,” senior captain Meghan Mills said. “I told the team that the game was not over, and we had to use everything we learned for the next six minutes.”
The Lady Panthers scored five goals and kept the Yellow Jackets from scoring.
“It was very nerve racking,” Perrotta said. “I have never seen a more dominant six minutes of play. The girls were more excited than I had seen them all season. Everyone is starting to believe in themselves,” Perrotta said.
The Lady Panthers will face three-time defending state champs Westminster today at Westminster at 5 p.m.