The Moore League girls’ lacrosse season got off to a delayed start in 2021, but it arrived nonetheless with a showdown between Millikan and Wilson on Friday evening. The host Bruins got off to a quick start, but the Rams settled in and took control of the game for a 13-5 victory.
“It’s been a long road, and I’m super proud of them,” said Millikan head coach Ariana Estrada of her team. “The proof is in the pudding. They’ve been working extremely hard to get to the W and they finally got there. And I’m really proud.”
The Rams were led by junior Carly Brenner, who scored a game-high four goals on seven shots. She scored Millikan’s first two goals of the day and added two more after halftime as the Rams pulled away for the win.
“Today I decided I was going to be decisive and I was going to be aggressive, and I was going to take the shot when I had it,” said Brenner after the win. “I was in a rut, and today my dad talked me up, I got help from my boyfriend and my friends, and they all helped me out and I want to thank them for that. They really motivated me to do my best today.”
Millikan also got hat trick performances from junior Finley Martin and sophomore Erin Tighe, while Estrella Xelhuantzi added a pair of goals and Mahalia Dominguez chipped in a score as well. Hailey Hartley and Alondra Pinzon each spent a half in goal for the Rams, with Hartley racking up a handful of saves and Pinzon only allowing one goal from the Bruins.
Wilson charged out of the gate to take a 4-1 lead, getting a pair of goals from Angie Membreno in that stretch. Grace Littleworth also scored twice for Wilson and Grace Lewis had the opening goal of the game for the home side. Bruins goalie Chloe Hill was able to make 18 saves for the Bruins as Millikan took close to 40 shots in the contest.
After the Bruins took that early advantage, Estrada used a timeout to refocus her team and get them back to their fundamentals. The message seemed to resonate as the Rams finished the first half on a 4-0 run to lead 5-4 at halftime.
A goal by Littleworth tied things up at 5-5 in the second half, but it was all Millikan after that as the Rams rattled off the final eight goals of the evening to secure the 13-5 win.
Wilson head coach Natali McCaslin was pleased with her team’s performance in just their third game of the season, especially considering the Bruins have had a consistent influx of new players.
“I'm pretty proud of the girls, especially the way they started this game, because it was completely different compared to how the other games started,” McCaslin said. “I think in the second half, they just started losing their momentum as (Millikan) started gaining more momentum on the other side. And they were getting more frustrated with themselves, which brought them down. But I feel like if they just stay composed, they will definitely be able to keep that match going pretty evenly next game, so I'm pretty excited for that.”
Both teams are scheduled for a rematch on Monday at 4 p.m. back at Wilson. The teams will face off a total of four times this season in a condensed Moore League schedule.
