Riverview Rams 11 vs. Tampa Catholic Crusaders 9

Some games are just a bit different than other games. Riverview Rams traveled into Tampa tonight to face the Tampa Catholic Crusaders. It was a hard fought game through the first half. While the Rams took the lead early, the Crusaders formed a defense that was difficult to penetrate but thanks to the repeatedly well performing Lindsay Kaighin,  our defense held true and the half ended with a score of 4 – 4.

The girls had a short halftime which proved beneficial for the Rams, who appear to have a magical level of endurance. They out ran, out played and out scored the Crusaders throughout the second half. It was this level of long term play that proved to topple the Tampa team who demonstrated a monstrous control of the draw. The simple fact that the Crusaders dominated that essential part of the game should have left us in the dust wondering what happened but our speed, tenacity and marathon capabilities took over. As the second half opened, Ronnie McCurdy decided to end the nonsense and net 3 goals in the first four minutes of the half. Pressing forward The Rams were able to increase their lead to 6 goals. With the score 11 – 5 and 3 minutes remaining, our goalie discovered that she may have danced a little too closely with karma as the ball slipped from her bag and into rolled a little too far backward, putting a point on the board for the Crusaders. This was just a taste of what was to follow. While our watches ticked off nearly 2 minutes of time, the game clock seemed a bit reluctant to keep up with the speed of the game. In the end the statistics show that the Crusaders scored 3 goals in the final minute and seven seconds… making this game much closer that it appeared to be. Congrats to the Crusaders who held tight and stayed focused. They are a team to watch.

While McCurdy led the team with 5 goals and 3 assists in the game. Special mention should be given to Lauren Brown, who kicked up some dust in her return to the ground after taking and making a successful leaping shot… Go Lauren!  Gabriella Connelly and Kate Zoltak each pushed 2 goals forward in tonight’s victory, while Marisa Souchak added another.

Addition to the way we scored, we have to consider how we scored. Given the lack of control after the draw, and our regular performance gaining ground balls, an area of the teams defense stood out tonight. We intercepted the ball four times. These were not the normal “stick checks with recovery”. These were the real deal. Crusaders making moves toward the net, passing the ball and coming up empty because we took the ball out of thin air and began moving it the other way. Shout outs on tonight’s game changing turnover squad… Lily Dougherty, Ronnie McCurdy, Gabriella Connelly and Marisa Souchak. They put new meaning to the thought that if things aren’t gong your way… take your  ball and go home!

Over all a great game to watch… it’s Lacrosse… it’s a fast game… it’s fun to watch and more fun to win! Thank you ladies for making this season so much fun for the fans! Continue the to bring on the pressure this week and we will be there to cheer you on when you face off with district opponents Cardinal Mooney!

GO RAMS!

Recap contributor: E. Kulak