Rivalry Game to Open the 2015 Campaign
Kelly Larkin has had a fast start for the Cardinals in the first 3 games of the 2015 season. (photo courtesy of Delia Sullivan Photography)
The Larkin-Mathews combination provided key offensive leadership in the Tuesday, March 17, girls’ lacrosse season opener as junior Kelly Larkin had 3 goals, 2 assists; and senior Kelly Mathews had 3 goals to lead Bishop Ireton past Georgetown Visitation 11-9 on a windy day in Washington, D.C. Costly turnovers let the home team keep it close late into the second half when it was tied 9-9 but two straight Ireton goals with 5:44 and 5:11 respectively left in the game provided the margin of victory.
“They did a nice job of fighting back and getting the momentum in the second half,” said Bishop Ireton head coach Rick Sofield. “In crunch time we made the plays. We stalled the last few minutes and retained possession. We got the ball checked out of our stick with 30 seconds left, but we got it right back. It was our first game, and I was telling the girls we didn’t play our best, but we still found a way to beat a good team.”
Also contributing to the Cardinals’ offense were sophomore Kayla Duperrouzel (2 goals); senior Charlotte Sofield (1 goal, 1 assist); freshman Lexi Ledoyen (1 goal); and senior Kaitlin Luzik (1 assist).
Sophomore goalie Amelia Cole had 9 saves and “provided a menacing presence in the crease” according to The Washington Post.
International Game versus Canadian Powerhouse
On Friday, March 20, the Cardinals welcomed Canada’s top high school girls’ lacrosse team from Hill Academy (Ontario) to Fannon Field in Ireton’s home opener of the 2015 season. The miserable weather was cold, wet, and windy. It was a hard fought contest and the winning goal was scored by Duperrouzel with nine seconds left in regulation.
For Bishop Ireton, Mathews had 3 goals, 1 assist; Sofield got 2 goals, 2 assists; Duperrouzel notched 2 goals, 1 assist; Larkin had 1 goal, 1 assist; Ledoyen got 1 goal; Luzik had 2 assists; and Cole had 8 saves.
Cardinals Win in Overtime Thriller
Bishop Ireton pulled it out the overtime win 13-11 against nationally ranked Roland Park of Baltimore at Fannon Field on Saturday, March 21. Sofield had 4 goals, 2 assists; Larkin got 4 goals, 1 assist; Mathews notched 3 goals, 2 assists; and Ledoyen and Kayla Marshall each got 1 goal; and Duperrouzel had 5 draw controls. Leading the defense were Luzik with 4 draw controls, 4 ground balls, and 3 caused turnovers; and Cole with 9 saves with at least three of them earned by stopping free position shot attempts.
It was during this game that Kelly Mathews scored her 200th career goal.
Another of the “K’s” senior Kelly Mathews, scored her 200th goal as a Cardinal in Bishop Ireton’s OT win over highly regarded Roland Park Country School Saturday. (photo courtesy Delia Sullivan Photography)
Coach Sofield was recently quoted in a Connection Newspapers article as saying, “We have talked about how different it is to be a competitor when you’re the one who’s in the lead…We talk about it the context of running a race: if you’re right behind the girl in the lead…and you’re staring at her back, you’re tracking her and she doesn’t know you’re back there and she doesn’t know you’re coming. That’s what I told them: This year, we’re the ones out front and people are running us down and there’s some girl out there [who is] working hard, who is trying to come up behind you and so you can’t let up. You can’t get complacent, you’ve got to keep going hard.”
Tomorrow the Cardinals travel to Bishop McNamara on Tuesday, March 24, and go to St. Mary’s Ryken on Friday, March 27, for their first two WCAC games of the year. Ireton faces nationally ranked Notre Dame Prep in a tough test at Fannon Field on Cambridge Road in Alexandria on Saturday, March 28, 1:00 p.m.
Processing your request, Please wait....
