Coach Rick Sofield took five rising Cardinal freshmen with the Stars Gold club team from northern Virginia to the US Lacrosse Girls’ U-15 national championship game in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, in July. The team went undefeated through the tournament before falling to the defending champion Yellow Jackets of Long Island, NY for the second year in a row.
Freshmen Kelly Mathews, Kaitlin Luzik, Natalie Irwin, and Charlotte Sofield joined new sophomore goalie Oliva Cole on the squad, with Cole and Sofield being named to the tournament’s all-tourney team.
After going 3-0 in the preliminary rounds of the tournament, the second seeded Stars Gold squared off with the top-seeded Long Island squad. The Jackets again prevailed 10-3 after the Stars grabbed an early 2-1 lead. “It was a lot harder this year,” said Jackets’ coach, Carol Rainson-Rose, whose girls topped the Stars 12-5 in 2010.
“Oliva played out-of-her-mind well in the semifinals and finals,” commented Sofield, “we just had too many turnovers and didn’t win enough draws. Kelly, Kaitlin, and Natalie were major contributors to the success we enjoyed through the tournament.”
The freshmen and sophomore goalkeeper form a strong future for the Cardinal lacrosse program, one that has finished in the top three of the WCAC for five consecutive years. See an interview with the Cardinals’ skipper at: http://youtu.be/elZhJqD4YP8
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