St. Anne’s headed to VISAA semifinals

By Liz Keller

Published: May 13, 2008

St. Anne’s-Belfield may not have played its prettiest lacrosse of the season, but it made all the plays it needed to in order to secure a win over Virginia Episcopal in the VISAA quarterfinals Tuesday afternoon.
The Saints, fueled by a six-goal run that stretched over the first and second halves, took control and never looked back in a 16-11 win over the Bishops.
The victory propels STAB to the state semifinals, and the team will play the Cape Henry Collegiate/Highland winner on Friday at the University of Richmond.
“I didn’t think we were particularly focused today, but we did enough to win,” said STAB coach Mary Blake. “The good part about that is it gives us an opportunity to continue playing. I felt like we kept control, but it was just little things - fighting for ground balls, placing our shots, winning the draws. It was the little things I didn’t think we were focused on.”
The Saints trailed 3-1 early in the game, but bounced back to take a 4-3 lead after a goal from Rachel Ahn. The junior finished with a hat trick and added two assists to help lead the STAB attack. Freshman Kate McCullough paced the team with six goals.
But the Bishops responded, as Cat Kelley notched one of her team-high six goals to tie the game at 4-4.
STAB reeled off four straight goals before halftime to take a commanding 8-4 lead. The spurt was highlighted by goals from Claire Scrivani, Kirsten West, Kathleen Battle and Corinna Coffin.
The Saints continued to build their lead in the second half, adding two more — one from West and the other from Ahn — before Kelley stopped the run with a VES goal.
The Bishops pulled within two goals, but were unable to get any closer.
Although pleased with the win, Blake said her team needs to work on fundamentals to continue to win.
“We actually work on draw controls, and it’s probably my top priority right now,” Blake said. “For me, there are two things that can win you a ball game - draw control and ground balls. Those are those 50-50 balls - if you can come up with them, you are in possession right away.”