Centennial girls JV lacrosse improved their record to 7-3 with a win over Atholton. The game, in which Centennial demolished Atholton in a 16-5 victory, was at Centennial on Tuesday April 24. Atholton looked strong at the beginning of the game, scoring the first goal. However, Centennial then had a streak of five goals in a row. The team used great chemistry to spread the ball to many different players. The five goals were split between Freshman Julia Benjamin, Kelsey Norris, and Allison Catalano. Atholton struck back with two goals but Centennial came back even stronger. Norris scored an un-assisted goal while Benjamin scored three goals in a row; two off free positions and one off a pass from Norris.

A free position is where the ball is given to the offense due to a foul committed by the opposing team. The defense must stand four meters behind the player for a major foul and four meters from the direction which the defender ran from to get the ball for a minor foul. If the foul is committed within the arc, the offensive player gets a shot on goal while the defense has to stand outside of the arc.

By halftime, the game was already out of reach for Atholton as Centennial lead 9-3. After halftime, Atholton looked like they were coming back with a goal right off the bat. However, Centennial followed up by scoring four goals. Things began to look even worse for Atholton when two of their players were given a warning card. The card was issued because Catalano was hit in the nose by an Atholton player. A warning card is a yellow card given to a player by the referee as a warning that if the player continues to play dangerously or act unsportsmanlike they will be presented with a red card. A red card indicates that a player is suspended from the game. Green cards can also be handed out by the referee to a captain to penalize the team for wasting time.

Atholton scored a goal in their last attempt to close the lead but Centennial countered this with three goals, two by sophomore Brittany Lukowski and one by co-captain Morgan Ashcroft. Ashcroft finished with two goals and two assists, Lukowski finished with two goals and one assist.

Benjamin lead the team in scoring with five goals while Norris and Ashcroft tied for the most assists, each having two during the game. Goalie, sophomore Kristen Mathe, saved numerous shots and combined with the defense to hold Atholton to only five goals and hardly any shots. Mathe had one outstanding save in which an Atholton player took a shot after a free position and Mathe blocked the ball. Although the game was not as important as the game against Mount Hebron, it was a good chance to work on the teams skills. “The game everyone likes to win is the Mount Hebron game, but it is still good to get a win against any team,” says the JV manager Maggie Frey.

Overall the team spread the ball around, having seven different players scoring. Centennial’s JV team will not play Atholton again this season although the varsity might face them in the playoffs. Although this game was not the most important, it is the little games that count.