On Thursday night in Hood River, the HRV girls lacrosse team got its third-straight win of the season with another blowout victory, this time at the expense of the Wilson Trojans, who lost 16-2 to give the Eagles their most decisive victory of the season.
HRV didn’t fare as well Saturday against the Lincoln Cardinals, who usually prove to be one of the top teams in the Portland League year after year, and gave the Eagles their first big test of the season. Despite lots of chances on offense, HRV couldn’t find a way past Lincoln, losing 9-6.
The girls were scheduled to play a nonleague game with St. Mary’s Academy in Portland Tuesday (results not available at press time) and then host Liberty in another nonleague contest Friday evening at 7.
HRV 16, Wilson 2
In a game that was mostly similar to the team’s previous two contests, HRV came out firing and finding the back of the net Thursday night at Henderson Community Stadium, recovering well after giving up an early goal to the Trojans. It took little more than 20 minutes for HRV to establish a double-digit lead over Wilson as the Eagles dominated possession and executed well on offense.
HRV Head Coach Andrew McElderry said that players “continue to function as a solid team unit” and expressed his overall satisfaction with how the team has played so far this season — particularly in the Wilson game.
“While the win is of course good, the ladies’ composure under pressure is by far the most rewarding takeaway,” he said. “It ranks up there as one of my favorite coaching moments in the last 20 years. We possessed the ball for pretty much the last 20 minutes under a heavy double- and triple-teaming.”
McElderry said the team has been playing a little too much “bobble ball” this season, meaning missed and inaccurate passes, but that was less of a problem Thursday, with players “making solid passes down the field from defense to middie to attack.”
The McElderry sisters were the workhorses for HRV that night, with Lydia first in team scoring with six goals on six shots, and Kat was second with three goals, as well as leading them team in ground balls (5) and assists (3). Savanna Brentlinger led with three draw controls and Lauren Trumbull caused Wilson to turn the ball over a team-high four times. In net, Ella Rand stopped five of seven shots (71 percent).
Other scorers for HRV included Abby Bartles (2), Riley Bauer (2), Blair Holman (1), Ellen Hudon (1), and Lauren Orr (1).
Lincoln 9, HRV 6
The Cardinals were a thorn in HRV’s side last season and picked up where they left off Saturday night, smothering 14 of HRV’s 20 shots and capitalizing on offensive opportunities, despite getting outshot by the Eagles.
McElderry said the team played well despite the loss and that he had anticipated a tough matchup with the fast-paced Cardinals, who exhibited some lock-down defense Saturday night.
“The fact is Lincoln has a strong defense and a quality goalie. We outshot them, won a majority of the draws — we just couldn’t find the back of the net… Our attack did their best to penetrate a rock-solid Lincoln defense but the final score did not go our way. We definitely look forward to playing them again.”
Bartles led the team in scoring, putting up a hat trick, and was backed up by Holman, Kat McElderry, and Alex Willis, who each added a goal. Bauer led the team in ground balls (4) and caused turnovers (5), while Erin Mayer won a team-high five draws. Rand started again in net for HRV and turned away eight of Lincoln’s 17 shots (47 percent).
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