Falcons' Big Second Half Sinks Ireton WCAC Lax Hopes, 16-9

Ireton's Charlotte Sofield (15) looks to pass as Kendall Cunningham (7) and Falcon defender look on.

The Bishop Ireton Cardinals girls’ lacrosse team was defeated by Good Counsel 16-9 last night in the WCAC championship game at the University of Maryland’s Ludwig Field. Despite leading 5-4 at halftime, the much younger Ireton squad got overwhelmed in the second half.

“We got tired, Good Counsel was able to wear us down in the second half and once they started to score, it sort of snowballed on us.” said head coach, Rick Sofield. Sophmore Isabel Obregon gave Ireton the early 1-0 lead at 20:37 before the Falcons tallied twice to take 2-1 lead. Sophomore Charlotte Sofield tied the game only to see Good Counsel respond. Sophomore Kelly Mathews tied it again with her first of 3 goals, and Sofield’s second of the game pushed Ireton to its biggest lead at 5-3.

But it was a pair of goals in the minutes of the second half that turned the tide to the top-seeded Falcons. Sofield and junior Kendall Cunningham scored for Ireton to pull the redbirds within 8-7, but Good Counsel went on an 8-0 run to put the game out of reach and claim their 8 championship in the past 10 years.

For Bishop Ireton, Mathews had 3 goals and one assist, Sofield had 2 goals and 2 assists, and Isabel Obregon had 2 goals and one assist; Kendall Cunningham had 2 goals and one assist; senior Brenna Heaney had one assist; and freshman Kelly Larkin had one assist. Junior goalie Olivia Cole had 8 saves.

The team finishes the 2013 WCAC regular season 7-1, 16-5 overall, which includes two big wins against 2012 WCAC champs Holy Cross 7-6 during the regular season and 13-5 in a conference semifinal playoff game. The future looks bright for a team that only graduates three seniors this year and whose roster is two-thirds composed of freshmen and sophomores.

The team plays Norfolk Academy today at 4:00 p.m. in a VISAA (Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association) quarterfinal game at Fannon Field on Cambridge Road in Alexandria.