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Liberty wins fourth straight lacrosse match, downs Stonewall 23-5
The Easter baskets sitting on Liberty’s bench Monday may have helped fuel the Eagles’ 23-5 win over the Stonewall Jackson girls lacrosse team.
A short-term sugar high can’t explain the Eagles four-game winning streak, though.
Liberty improved to 4-3 with the blowout victory and climbed above .500 for the first time this season after starting 0-3.
“Being a first-year coach and you lose your first three, you’re going, ‘Oh [no],’” Liberty co-coach Ken McInnis said. “But I knew they had it…They’re coming along.”
Remnants of Easter had no positive effect on the Stonewall Raiders, which fell to 2-5 with the loss. The long weekend also marked the end of Stonewall’s spring break, and two Raider starters missed Monday’s game thanks to the vacation, while others returned only shortly before game’s start.
“Liberty’s a good team and we didn’t get off the bus ready to play,” Stonewall coach William Dignan said. “I was disappointed. Not that we lost, they were a little better-skilled than we are, but we didn’t come out with much heart.”
Dignan’s absent players were especially missed on defense. Liberty cutters sliced to the goal face all night and pin-point passing made for easy scores. In fact, 11 of Liberty’s 25 goals were assisted.
“They passed the ball pretty well, ran some plays, and we got lost in the shuffle,” Dignan said. “We were following our men around instead of playing our area.”
Heather McInnis led Liberty with six goals, boosting her career total to 106. She reached that milestone 100th goal in a 25-4 victory over Culpeper on April 6.
Eight other Eagles scored against Stonewall with Kensey Norman tallying four goals and a game-high three assists, while Toni Ann Gambale had three goals and one assist.
Liberty’s offense produced most often off the draw and in transition. It seemed every Stonewall pass turned into a ground ball scooped up by the Eagles.
Lilliana Hernandez was one of few bight spots for Stonewall. She led the Raiders with three goals, scoring Stonewall’s only two points in the first half, which ended with Liberty leading 16-2. Stonewall’s leading scorers on the season, Ayan Elbathany and Lindsey Callatir, were held to one goal between them...
See the Wednesday print edition of the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story.
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