UPDATE: The HRV Eagles girls lacrosse team will host Marist at 6 p.m. Monday at the high school football field.
The HRV girls lacrosse team has had an up-and-down season, but at the end of the season, they ended on the up side.
For only the second time in the team’s history, the Eagles are heading to the playoffs, and wrapped up their regular season Thursday night with a decisive win over Cleveland, defeating the Warriors by a score of 12-4.
Coach Andrew McElderry said his team was “stoked” to make the post-season, and was pleased with how they played in what may have been the last game of the year in Hood River.
“It was a great game,” he said. “The kids are seeing each other well and I thought we cleared the ball really well. We really adjusted to riding (Cleveland) when their goalie got the ball well.”
HRV ended up outscoring Cleveland three to one and outshot the team 30-18, but it took some time before the Eagles really got things cooking.
Lydia McElderry put HRV on the board less than four minutes into the game with a rocket just a few feet in front of the goalie, but Cleveland tied the game less than three minutes later. A goal from Savannah Brentlinger with 14:57 left in the half put HRV out in front again, only to have Cleveland answer with 13:17 remaining to make it 2-2.
The Eagles broke free in the latter part of the half, starting with two goals from Erin Mayer, including a penalty shot, and another one by Brentlinger to make it 5-2 by the end of the half — nearly 6-2 if a last-second goal by Lydia McElderry hadn’t been waved off by the officials.
The first five minutes of the second half were quiet until Riley Bauer tore up the middle of the field, split two Cleveland defenders, and fired one into the back of the net to make it 6-2, HRV. Cleveland and HRV traded goals again, with the Warriors scoring with 18:45 left in the game to narrow it to 6-3. Goals by Bauer and Savanna Boersma put HRV up 8-3, and Cleveland added another with 10:59 left in the half to make it 8-4.
From there on out, though, it was all the HRV Eagles show, with goals from Brentlinger, Lydia McElderry and Kat McElderry in the waning minutes. The final goal of the night went to Brentlinger, who, hearing the countdown with 10 seconds remaining, bolted up the field and despite Cleveland swarming her with defenders, Brentlinger was able to poke her stick out and slide one past the Warrior’s goalie as she fell sideways with one second left.
The spectacular move resulted in Brentlinger sustaining an injury that saw her carried off the field, but smiling, as her teammates and the crowd in the stands at Henderson Stadium roared their approval. Immediately after the match, McElderry said he believed it to be “a minor tear in her calf” that likely wouldn’t keep her out of the playoffs.
“It was pretty crazy in there,” he said of the shot. “She was guarded pretty well and saw and opening and took it high and put it into the back of the net.”
Brentlinger was the team’s leading scorer, with four goals on the evening and also leading the team in ground balls, with six. Daisy Dolan led on draw controls, winning three.
In net, frosh goalie Ella Rand had her best game of the season, making some key saves in the second half of the game that could have very easily been goals. She stopped eight of 12 shots to end the night with a 66.7 save percentage.
“Ella Rand had some great saves,” McElderry said. “She’s really kind of coming into her own.”
The Eagles, who are ranked 15th, will face No. 18 Marist on Monday; game time was not available at press time. The two teams have not faced each other this season. Marist has a 9-3 record in the South League (9-4 overall), while HRV ended the season with a 7-5 record in the Portland League (7-8 overall).
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