Season's Results Signal Bright Lax Future for the Cardinal Girls

Cardinal goalie, Olivia Cole (22) and "Charlie" Buising (8) are busy during action over spring break on Long Island, NY

The Bishop Ireton girls’ varsity lacrosse team finished the season 17-6 with a team two-thirds composed of freshmen and sophomores (14 of 21 players). The Cardinals are only graduating three seniors this year—Brenna Heaney, Charlie Buising and Michaela Mulokey. In 2014 there projects to be only four seniors—Olivia Cole, Kendall Cunningham, Annie Barletta and Catie Isham.

During the 2013 season, the girls’ lacrosse team: 1) advanced to the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) championship game for the first time since 2009; 2) advanced to the semifinals of the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association championship tournament; 3) twice defeated 2012 WCAC champion Holy Cross—during the regular season 7-6 on April 19^th and during the WCAC playoffs 13-5 on May 9^th; 4) defeated two tough New York state opponents up on Long Island during spring break—Sacred Heart 11-5 on April 2^nd and Long Beach 5-4 on April 3^rd; 5) defeated 2012 Georgia state runner-up Lassiter 15-12 on April 5^th; and 6) finished fourth overall in LaxPower.com’s DC Area power rankings.

Only two early season losses could be considered “out of reach.” Two other losses were by single goals—vs. Milton (Georgia) 12-11 on April 5^th; and vs. Collegiate 9-8 on May 17^th. The Cardinals finished the season winning 10 of their last 12 games.

Twelve players received 2013 All-WCAC honors: First Team—sophomores Kelly Matthews, Charlotte Sofield, Isabel Obregon and Kaitlin Luzik; Second Team—senior Brenna Heaney, juniors Kendall Cunningham and Olivia Cole, and sophomore Natalie Irwin; Honorable Mention—senior Charlotte Buising, sophomore Christine Macey, and freshmen Kelly Larkin and Maggie Lohrer.

The 2013 season saw 18 different players score goals with seven players in double digits and there were 16 different players getting assists with six players in double digits. Five different players were ranked among The Washington Post’s AllMetSports.com top 50 statistical leaders—Kelly Matthews was tied for 28^th with 65 goals; Charlotte Sofield was 7^th with 47 assists, Isabel Obregon was tied for 22^nd with 31 assists and Kelly Larkin was tied for 42^nd with 24 assists; and Olivia Cole was 8^th with 173 saves.

Kendall Cunningham had a team season-high eight goals vs. Potomac School on April 18^th. Charlotte Sofield had a team season-high six assists vs. Paul VI on March 26^th. Olivia Cole had a team season-high 15 saves vs. Sacred Heart on April 2^nd and actually got two assists during the season as well—one each vs. Bishop O’Connell on May 3^rd and vs. Collegiate on May 17^th. Cole also had a sharp eye for notifying referees about illegal sticks being used during free position shots—going 8-of-9 on the season including two against the same St. Anne’s Belfield player on March 12^th.

Olivia Cole, Kaitlin Luzik, Charlotte Sofield, Natalie Irwin, Kelly Matthews and Maggie Lohrer were recently named to play for different teams representing the D.C. Metro Region in the prestigious Schoolgirls’ Division of the U.S. Lacrosse Women’s National Tournament taking place May 25-26 at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.

Charlotte Sofield, Isabel Obregon, Kaitlin Luzik, Natalie Irwin and Olivia Cole were all named to Under Armour’s 2013 Underclass All-American Washington, D.C., team. The D.C. team will battle it out with nine other regional teams from around the United States at the respected Under Armour All-America Lacrosse Classic July 5-7 at Towson University in Baltimore, MD.

Natalie Irwin and Olivia Cole are members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Girls Lacrosse National High School Team that will compete at the Lake Placid Summit Classic August 5-7 in Lake Placid, NY.

Varsity and junior varsity players will again be playing this summer for various travel teams at tournaments all along the East Coast and sharpening their lacrosse skills at a variety of summer camps. This travel team/camp involvement also holds true for incoming Class of 2017 freshmen including participation in tournaments as far afield as the Vail Lacrosse Shootout July 1-3 in Vail, CO, and the U15 National Championship July 23-25 at Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Lake Buena Vista, FL.

The future does indeed seem to hold much promise and potential for the Bishop Ireton girls’ lacrosse program under head coach Rick Sofield.