Girls Lax Wins Season Opener over an old nemesis, 11-6

Sophomore Kelly Mathews had a 4-goal day in Charlottesville in the season opener.

The Bishop Ireton girls’ lacrosse team traveled down to Charlottesville, VA, on Tuesday, March 12, to face off against St. Anne’s-Belfield (STAB) and came away with an 11-6 victory. Before last year’s pair of wins on Fannon Field, Ireton had never solved the STAB girls’ lacrosse puzzle. STAB led this contest 4-2 at halftime, but BI roared back in the second half to claim the victory.

Sophomores Kelly Matthews and Isabel Obregon led the offense with four goals for Matthews, and three goals and one assist for Obregon. Junior goalie Olivia Cole anchored the defense with eight saves on 18 shots on goal. Cole also called for two illegal stick checks after apparent STAB goals and both goals were indeed overturned after the requisite inspections by the referees.

Freshman Kelly Larkin scored her first two career goals as a Cardinal, sophomore Charlotte Sofield contributed one goal and three assists, senior Brenna Heaney scored one goal and had one assist, and junior Kendall Cunningham had one assist.

The Cardinals’ home opener at Fannon Field is Saturday, March 16, at 1:00 p.m. against Collegiate School of Richmond. The team faces tough home games against two nationally-ranked opponents next week. They play Georgetown Visitation on Monday, March 18, at 4:00 p.m. and St. Stephens-St. Agnes on Wednesday, March 20, at 4:00 p.m. Next month, the team travels to Long Island during spring break to play nationally-ranked Sacred Heart on April 2 and Long Beach on April 3. The Lady Cardinals finish spring break with two games at Fannon Field—both on Friday, April 5, against nationally ranked teams-defending state champions: Loyola Academy of Illinois and Milton High School of Georgia.