Andrew McElderry, head coach of the HRV girls lax team, had Friday’s contest at Oregon Episcopal School penciled in as the toughest game of the season for the Eagles, and the Aardvarks delivered.
OES (9-1, 8-0 league) throttled HRV (8-2, 6-2 league) 17-3 in what was the Eagles’ most lopsided loss of the season. The fourth-ranked Aardvarks’ margin of victory over the Eagles Friday was consistent with the other wins the team has had this season — not especially surprising considering that the team has the highest goal differential in the Portland League (140-24).
McElderry said that he was proud of his athletes, who “played their hearts out,” but were simply outgunned by the Aardvarks.
“OES is an amazing team skill-wise,” he said. “No way we could beat them.”
The Eagles struggled to contain OES, giving up 27 shots while only putting up eight of their own. OES made HRV work hard for the few draw controls, ground balls, and caused turnovers the team was able to come up with Friday evening and Ella Rand had a season-low save percentage of 32 percent after stopping eight of OES’ 25 shots on-goal. Kat McElderry had two of HRV’s three total goals and Abby Bartles tallied the other.
McElderry added that the team had trouble acclimating to a style of game that was more physical than usual, but noted that “after a while, our ladies adjusted to (it) and enjoyed playing.” He said the matchup was “very fun and educational” for HRV as the team looks to make adjustments leading up to this Friday’s contest with OES, which will take place in Hood River at 7 p.m.
HRV 13, at Wilson 7
The Eagles bounced back Monday with a 13-7 win over Wilson (1-8, 1-9 league), HRV’s second of the season against the Wildcats, who are currently in the Portland League basement.
McElderry said HRV had a “good handle on the game and took the opportunity to shuffle some players around in positions they are not used to playing, as well as get some more playtime for a few of our underclassmen, resulting in a score that does not reflect our efforts.”
The McElderry sisters combined for the majority of HRV’s offense, with Lydia putting up four goals and Kat following with three. Erin Mayer also had three goals, while Abby Bartles, Savanna Brentlinger, and Lauren Trumbull each had a goal. Bartles and Brentlinger also had an assist each, as did Sam Davies, Ashley Hendricks, Blair Holman, and Ellen Hudon. Riley Bauer had a good day on defense, gathering a team-high five ground balls and forcing Wilson to commit three turnovers. Daisy Dolan had three wins in the faceoff circle.
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