Lady Canes defend Santa Fe Raiders

Santa Fe Girls Lacrosse Defeats Gainesville in District Semifinal

The Santa Fe Raiders girls lacrosse team pulled out a hard-fought 15-11 victory over the Gainesville High Hurricanes in Monday night’s 1A District 4 semifinal matchup.

 

Close Contest

Gainesville High wasted no time finding the back of the net. Senior midfielder Claire Hutton posted two quick goals to give the Canes the lead less than two minutes into the game.

The Raiders found their groove, responding with goals from Alyssa McKnight and Emma Maroon. Shortly after, the Canes took back the lead, thanks to goals from Amy Bush and Avi Lorenzini. 

Maroon’s Magic

Santa Fe’s Maroon was a force to be reckoned with against the Canes. Just as the Raiders gave up two goals to the Canes, she quickly took control and answered with two more goals of her own.

Maroon posted a game-high 5 goals against GHS and approached the game with the mentality of putting the team first.

Neither team could pull away throughout the entire first half. Gainesville held onto an 8-7 lead heading into halftime.

Second Half Stir

To open the second half, the Raiders scored three unanswered goals to take back all of the momentum. McKnight, Maroon and Miranda tallied goals.

 

Gainesville’s April Bush responded to break the Canes’ 9-minute scoring drought. Ella Denny followed it up with another goal for the Canes to tie the game 10-10.

Raiders Deliver the Final Punch

The Raiders tapped into a new gear to close out the game against the Canes. The scoring started with a goal from Hallie Morgan with 11:47 left in the second half.

Maroon added another goal of her own to the scoreboard to give the Raiders a two-score lead. Rachel Peters extended the Santa Fe lead even further with another goal.

 

Celeste Flory attempted to keep Gainesville’s hopes alive with a goal, but it wouldn’t be enough to stop the Raiders. Miranda and Morgan each tallied another goal to secure a 15-11 Santa Fe victory.

Coach Cromwell spoke about her team’s fight in the victory.

District Championship Within Reach

The Raiders will compete for the district crown Wednesday night at Oak Hall at 7 p.m. Santa Fe will face Oak Hall, who defeated Eastside 20-0 in the semifinal game. 

Source: Maxpreps

The last time Santa Fe and Oak Hall faced off this season, the Eagles walked away with a 17-1 victory.

About Shailey Klein

Shailey Klein is a fourth-year journalism major specializing in sports and media at UF.

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