On Tuesday night, the varsity girls’ lacrosse team hosted a highly anticipated matchup against the Christian Academy of Louisville (CAL). After an intense and competitive game, Manual secured a 6-4 win.

The game started off with a strong defensive strategy from Manual. Sarudzai Charasika (#11, 12) scored the first goal of the night with four minutes remaining in the first quarter. With less than two minutes left, CAL scored, tying the game 1-1 at the end of the quarter.

The majority of the second quarter was evenly matched, but Manual’s offense moved aggressively and refused to back down. In the last five minutes, CAL had the only goal of the quarter, giving them a 2-1 lead going into halftime.

Manual took back control of the game in the third quarter. They had three goals, two of which were made by attacker Ava Schickel (#16, 11). Schickel was a key offensive contributor throughout the match and showed confidence in her team’s ability to beat CAL. 

“I knew we would have to put our all out there, but I was excited to have a good matchup,” Schickel said. 

CAL started off the final quarter with a goal, but Manual’s Jasmine Smith (#8, 12) scored shortly after. Hayden Moore (#10, 11) secured another goal for Manual with just two minutes remaining. In the final seconds of the game, Cal scored a goal, but Manual still walked away with the victory.

Despite a slower start, Manual was able to bounce back after the second half. It was a tight, back and forth match, but Manual’s offense held strong and rose to the occasion.

“This was a game that was in the making for us. We had been slowly studying, making progress each and every game. CAL is a very tough team this year, so it could have gone either way. I was really proud of how the girls stepped up and were dialed in from the whistle,” assistant coach Matt Gamertsfelder said.

Moving forward, the team is focused on improving their communication throughout the game and polishing up the finer skills and details. Gamertsfelder wants the girls to concentrate on the smaller ball movement across the field in order to prepare for their upcoming game against Sacred Heart. Schickel believes the team can continue to refine these skills and build off of their momentum from their win.

“I think just cleaning it up a little bit and getting those little nuances, like the faster passes and stuff, would really help our game,” Schickel said.

The varsity teams next game is April 1 at 7 p.m. against Scared Heart Academy. The game will be hosted at Rachel Baker Field.