Girls lacrosse: Redwood rallies to win title in overtime
The Redwood High girls lacrosse team had a big mountain to climb in Saturday’s MCAL final.
Despite the steep endeavor, the Giants marched to the top of the peak to capture their second MCAL pennant in three years with a heart-racing 13-12 overtime victory against tough-luck Marin Catholic on a blustery spring afternoon in Larkspur.
Redwood (15-4) extended its winning streak to nine consecutive games even after falling behind 4-0 in the first period and competing two players short most of the second half because of an excess of penalties.
Marin Catholic (14-4), on the other hand, saw its 14-game winning streak snapped and, for a third consecutive year, lost by a single goal in the league final.
The Giants pulled out the dramatic victory when Maya Mihara whipped a shot into the corner of the net just as the first overtime expired off a feed from Riley Peterson.
“I can’t believe this,” said Mihara, who scored three goals. “Right now I’m kind of in shock.”
The final sequence in overtime was a bit of a shock to the Wildcats, who seemed poised to finally tuck away a title when Audrey Carr lined up for a penalty shot.
Carr, who had scored both of MC’s final two goals in regulation, however was whistled for a charging violation and Redwood took control of the ball.
Peterson, who dominated the faceoff circle in the second half, promptly streaked down the far side of the field.
After sidestepping a couple of defenders, Peterson pitched a perfect pass to Mihara, whose shot was never in doubt.
“I yelled at Riley, ‘Let’s go, we have to do this now,’” Mihara said. “She put it right on my stick. I kind of just blanked out and let instincts take over on the shot. I knew I needed it. I knew the team needed it. The shot landed clearly in the far side back of the net.”
Peterson said she was just waiting for an opportunity to pass the ball to Mihara.
“We’re super confident together,” Peterson said. “I worked the ball into Maya like I wanted to and, boom, she got it in.”
Peterson said she wasn’t all that surprised by her team’s slow start.
“We did the same thing against San Marin in the semis,” she said. “We kind of have a lot of nerves when we start out. But about the second quarter, we let out the jets and then we get locked in.”
Redwood took its first lead of the match 10-9 with 3:40 remaining in the third period when Claire Johnson, who led the Giants with five goals, converted a Peterson faceoff victory into a quick goal
“Riley’s wins in the faceoff circle is really what started our comeback,” Redwood coach Lauren Yee said. “Her presence is very important to our team. She can really focus on being good in the faceoff circle because she knows she has the supporting cast to take some of the pressure off of her in other aspects of the game.”
Peterson said winning faceoffs is simply a state of mind.
“It’s a mindset,” Peterson said. “If you think you’re going to win the ball then you’re going to win the ball.”
Between Peterson’s strength in the faceoff circle and some huge saves by goalie Eva Layton, Redwood led 11-10 with 4:12 remaining in regulation.
But back-to-back penalty shot goals by Carr pushed the Wildcats back on top 12-11 setting up the final hectic 45 seconds of regulation.
Carr was whistled for a slash on the ensuing faceoff and Redwood was awarded pivotal control of the ball as time ticked away.
Johnson went to work immediately attacking the net and was awarded a penalty shot. She made it count with a true blue shot into the back of the net to force the contest into sudden death.
“We seem to find a way to make things difficult on ourselves,” Yee said. “I kind of hate to admit it, but sometimes I think this team plays better when it finds itself in those kinds of unenviable situations.”
Marlie Nies led MC scorers with four goals and teammates Brooke Spagnuolo and Carr added three each. MC goalie Kat Villeda made some big saves, especially in the second half.