Santa Fe Girl’s Lacrosse Defeats Gainesville High in a Thriller

By Shailey Klein and Scarlett Cooney

In Tuesday night’s high school girl’s lacrosse match up, the Santa Fe Raiders walked away with a victory over the Gainesville High School Hurricanes with a score of 20-15.

Senior captain Hallie Morgan and freshman Grace Miranda led the Raiders in scoring with six goals apiece. The Bush sisters led the charge for GHS; senior Amy Bush contributed four goals and sophomore April Bush scored two.

Strong Start

Morgan did not hesitate attacking the goal as she tallied the first two scores for the Raiders. Gainesville’s Amy Bush kept the game close with a goal of her own.

Santa Fe’s Miranda and Emma Maroon joined in the action with quick back to back goals with 13:45 left in the first half. The scoring didn’t stop there as Miranda found the back of the net after an impressive spin move to put the Raiders up 6-2.

Miranda scores again off a smooth 1v1 spin move

11:47 left in 1st Half
Santa Fe: 6
GHS: 2@ESPNGainesville @GNVPreps @ThePrepZone pic.twitter.com/8wM6p0V2or

— Shailey Klein (@shaileyklein) April 5, 2022

Canes Come Back

The Canes wouldn’t let the Raiders extend the lead that easily. Amy Bush wasted no time responding to Miranda’s goal with a score of her own.

Gainesville’s Evelyn Ragsdale scored off a free position to cut the Raiders’ lead 6-4 with 8:55 left in the first half.

Raiders Take Back Control

Less than 30 seconds after Ragsdale’s goal, Santa Fe’s Alyssa McKnight tallied another goal for the Raiders. The Raiders scored four more goals to maintain control heading into halftime.

McKnight scores another Raider goal

3:22 left in 1st Half
Santa Fe: 9
GHS: 5@ESPNGainesville @GNVPreps @ThePrepZone pic.twitter.com/p1o4ukHnDD

— Shailey Klein (@shaileyklein) April 5, 2022

Morgan, Miranda and Amy Bush tallied hat tricks in the first half.

Back-and-Forth Second Half

To open the second half, the Raiders and Canes alternated scoring four goals. Gainesville’s Claire Hutton scored to put the Canes within three of the Raiders with 18:58 to play. Hutton’s goal forced a Santa Fe time out.

Coming out of the time out, the Raiders adjusted defensively, resulting in three scoreless minutes for GHS. Amy Bush broke the scoring drought with a goal to cut the Raiders’ lead 13-11. Santa Fe responded with three unanswered goals from Maroon, Miranda and Morgan.

Morgan sneaks in another Raider goal

8:19 left in Half 2
Santa Fe: 16
GHS: 11@ESPNGainesville @GNVPreps @ThePrepZone pic.twitter.com/kTb3jjye5K

— Shailey Klein (@shaileyklein) April 5, 2022

Canes Keep Fighting

Despite a five goal deficit with fewer than seven minutes to play, GHS continued to find ways to score. Hutton and Celeste Flory each tallied goals to put the Canes within three scores of the Raiders.

Celeste Flory’s goal keeps the Canes’ hopes alive

5:33 left in Half 2
Santa Fe: 16
GHS: 13@ESPNGainesville @GNVPreps @ThePrepZone

— Shailey Klein (@shaileyklein) April 5, 2022

Santa Fe’s Miranda scored to give the Raiders a 17-13 lead with 4:23 to play. After three minutes of scoreless play, Gainesville’s Layne Morton found the back of the net.

Santa Fe Secures the Victory

The Raiders sealed the victory with goals from Morgan, as well as Faith Marquis. Santa Fe walked away with a 20-15 win over Gainesville.

Raiders Rely on Leadership

Santa Fe head coach Kayla Cromwell spoke on Morgan and junior captain Rachel Peters’ strong leadership.

“They just keep the team cool. They keep them calm and ready to go but they amp them up when needed. They just keep the game going and don’t let the girls get distracted by anything else.”

Postseason Plans

Coach Cromwell has high hopes for her team as they head into the district playoffs.

The Hurricanes have the opportunity to redeem themselves in the district semifinals against the Raiders on Monday, April 11 at 5:30 p.m.