Cate girls lacrosse mounted a fourth-quarter comeback to earn a back-and-forth 14-13 victory over Dos Pueblos on Thursday at Scott O’Leary Stadium.
The Rams improved to 4-1 in Channel League play with the victory, good for second place behind undefeated San Marcos. Meanwhile, the Chargers dropped to 2-3 in league matchups.
“One thing that we were really looking forward to in this game was our mental game. [DP] is a really tough team and they had to dig deep,” Cate assistant coach Caroline Reitmeyer said. “In that third and fourth quarter, there were moments when you would not recognize this team from the beginning of the season.
“The exponential growth, both physically with our skills and mentally with our lacrosse IQ, is crazy.”
The crosstown matchup was full of action, as the game featured five lead changes and eight ties.
“That is just good lacrosse,” Dos Pueblos head coach Dan Fledhaus said. “Cate is well coached and they’re a good team. We knew it was going to be a battle out here… It’s unfortunate that we came up on the short end of that, but we left everything on the field.
“I’m proud of my girls and the effort they gave, they were hurt and sick and bloody, so I’m super proud of them… I think if we had another couple of minutes, we would have tied it up and forced overtime.”
The Rams got out to a hot start, controlling the opening face-off before passing the ball to Lauren Hubbs, who took off down the field, weaved through the defense and scored for a 1-0 lead 16 seconds into the game.
Just over one minute later, Hubbs found herself with the ball in the attacking third once again and dished it off to Lucy Guilbert-Neal, who deposited the goal for a 2-0 advantage at the 10:20 mark.
After a few minutes of back-and-forth play, the Chargers got on the scoreboard at the 7:30 mark when Chloe Gotsis drew a penalty and converted the free shot to cut the deficit to 2-1.
However, the Rams answered right back with a penalty goal courtesy of Maia Holmes one minute later.
Dos Pueblos responded 13 seconds later when Eloise Shea came off the face-off win and found Reagan Arnold in stride, who scored to bring the Chargers closer.
The Chargers maintained that momentum and tied the game up at 3-3 with 4:22 left in the quarter, thanks to Sophie Dent charging through the defense and scoring through contact.
The two sides exchanged goals to remain tied at 4-4 at the end of the first quarter. Cate’s goal came courtesy of an underhand shot by Sophia Ospin, while the Chargers’ Linnea Clapinski scored on a penalty shot.
The Rams started the second quarter strong as well, with Guilbert-Neal taking advantage of the opening face-off win for an early goal and a 5-4 lead. Guilbert-Neal finished the day with three goals.
“We look to Lucy all throughout the field as a leader, and she really stepped up today, especially with her draw controls,” Reitmeyer said. “Not only is she wicked fast, but she’s definitely matured at shot placement and shot decisions.”
Following strong stops by both defenses, Dos Pueblos brought the score even once again off a turnover when Clapinski found Arnold open in the middle of the defense, and Arnold turned and fired into the back of the net to make it 5-5 with 7:06 left in the half.
That goal sparked the Chargers, who then turned in strong defensive plays that led to the team’s first lead of the game on a goal from Clapinski off an assist by Eloise Shea. A few minutes later, Arnold wrapped around the back of the net and scored her third goal to make it 7-5 with less than two minutes left in the half.
Arnold was in the middle of the action all night for Dos Pueblos, ending with a game-high five goals.
“Reagan is the heart of this team; she gives everything at practice and in games,” Feldhaus said. “She pushes our team and is a leader on the team. It’s a blessing for me to coach her… she kept us in the game.”
The Rams cut the deficit down to 7-6 with 34 seconds left in the half on a goal from Holmes, who muscled her way through the defense for the score.
The third quarter mirrored the first half as it was a back-and-forth affair that featured four ties and the two sides exchanging blow after blow.
Ospina opened the scoring to even the game at 7-7, and the two sides alternated goals until the score sat at 10-10 with 4:28 left in the third.
Cate’s goals came courtesy of Guilbert-Neal, Holmes and Sam Jimenez, while Shea, Dent and Arnold scored for the Chargers.
Dos Pueblos would get the last laugh in the quarter with two unanswered goals, thanks to strong individual efforts by Clapinski and Marisa Russak, to take a 12-10 advantage into the final quarter.
While the Chargers looked to run down some clock to begin the fourth, the Rams came out of the break with an aggressiveness and urgency to score.
That aggression and urgency proved valuable as Ospina scored back-to-back goals, one unassisted and one assisted by Hubbs, to tie the game at 12-12. The clutch fourth-quarter scores gave Ospina a team-high four on the night.
“Sophia just works her butt off, she’s a defender’s worst nightmare because she never stops moving,” Reitmeyer said.
The Rams continued to roll throughout the fourth quarter as Lilli Whelan shot over her defender and through the Dos Pueblos goalie to take a 13-12 lead with 8:32 left in the game.
Three minutes later, Holmes scored her fourth goal of the night for some insurance and a 14-12 advantage.
“Maia is so confident on the field at taking the shot when she’s got it, and that’s kind of what you need when you’re down,” Reitmeyer said.
That insurance goal proved crucial, as Arnold scored on a penalty shot with 1:35 left to play to cut the Cate lead to 14-13.
However, the scoring would end there, thanks in part to a clutch save by Cate freshman goalie Chelsea Newlove with 1:21 on the clock to preserve the lead.
“Having a freshman play a full game of what’s probably going to be the closest league game you might get this season says something about her,” Reitmeyer said. “I think her eagerness to learn and to do well and try her hardest feeds up the field.”
The two teams will meet for a rematch in Carpinteria on Tuesday.