Not happy about letting the Division I trophy slip away last year, the Middlebury Union High School girls lacrosse team embarked on a mission this spring.
We wanted to get back what we had, Middlebury senior goalie Laura Barber said.
The Tigers showed those words were much more than lip service, romping to a 10-5 victory over Mount Mansfield at Buck Hard Field on Friday to snatch the programs eighth title in 11 years.
Speedy freshman Katie Ritter knocked in three goals, classmate Liz Kelley netted two and Barber was almost impenetrable for third-seeded Middlebury, which topped top-seeded Mount Mansfield to put an exclamation point on a 15-4 season.
It just feels awesome, Ritter said. We wanted it so much.
Middleburys determination was on display from the opening draw. The Tigers bolted to a 4-0 edge in the opening 10 minutes and then smothered Mount Mansfields high-powered attack with stingy defense.
Barber bound for a University of Vermont lacrosse career showed why she was pursued by several college programs this season, gobbling up 14 shots, including 10 in the second half when senior-laden Mount Mansfield (17-2) was threatening a comeback.
Shes the best in the state this year and we knew that was going to be an issue, Mount Mansfield coach Dan Linde said.
The only blemishes on Mount Mansfields record were administered by the Tigers, who were participating in their 10th final in 11 years and bent on redeeming themselves from a title game defeat to South Burlington last year.
And Middlebury appears to be in good shape to make another run next season, considering eight of its goals Friday came from non-seniors.
We played with heart this game, Barber said. Theres nothing more I could have asked from my team for this game.
Especially on the defensive end. A Tiger unit that held opponents to less than 10 goals in all but one game this year repeatedly clogged Mount Mansfields path to the net, stymieing a Cougar team that came in with an average of more than 14 goals a game.
Kelley Johanna notched a goal and an assist for Middlebury, with Lauren Higgins, Liza Perrin and Abby Scholten rounding out the Tiger scoring.
Lauren Bowie and Maria Rademacher had the other goals for Mount Mansfield. Bowies free-position strike trimmed Middleburys lead to 8-5 with a shade less than 15 minutes remaining. But 48 seconds later the Tigers swift passing found a wide-open Brady, who deposited a shot past MMU goalie Jessica Guay, and Mount Mansfields momentum stalled.
The loss dashed the hopes of 13 MMU seniors who had put the Cougars into title contention every year since Mount Mansfield elevated to Division I in 2005. They no reason to hang their heads, Linde said.
It was a great season, he said. Seventeen wins and two losses. The second loss just came at the wrong time.
Its been a real magical group, a close-knit group of girls, he added. I think I can honestly say this was the best team Mount Mansfield has ever fielded.
(we (mount mansfield)are the white jerseys with navy stripes.)
i put this article up because my sister lauren plays on the mount mansfield cougars girls lacrosse team, she is one of their top 4 players and she was really sick at this game so she couldn't play her best. =( the good thing is we still had a better record than middlebury with 17wins and 2 loses. =D
