Home Local Sports Young Caravel holds off Padua in girls lacrosse action: Photo gallery

Young Caravel holds off Padua in girls lacrosse action: Photo gallery

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Tatum Williams (in white) controls the ball for the Pandas in their 11-9 setback against Caravel. Dialog photo/Mike Lang

WILMINGTON — Caravel jumped to a three-goal lead against Padua in the teams’ lacrosse matchup on March 25, withstood a mid-game Pandas surge, and went on to an 11-9 win on the outdoor turf at the Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington.

It was the first game of the season for Padua, the second for Caravel.

The teams traded goals for the first four of the game. A Padua opportunity led to the first goal for the Buccaneers. After the Pandas sent a shot off the post, Caravel took the rebound end-to-end and earned an eight-meter opportunity. Hannah McLamb capitalized for the 1-0 lead.

The Pandas’ Tatum Williams answered on her own eight-meter, beating Caravel keeper Addison Van Rensler five-hole. Alice Pifferi intercepted a Padua pass a few minutes later and drove the left side before getting a shot past Pandas backstop Abigail Johnson. Almost immediately, Williams returned the favor, scoring again on an eight-meter opportunity.

Johnson made a few saves to keep the score tied, and Padua sent one shot high and another wide of Van Rensler before hitting another post. Avery Hayden, however, untied the game, and McLamb added another with a twisting move along the baseline. After her goal, the Bucs won the faceoff, and Pifferi carried the ball in and got one past Johnson to give her team a 5-2 lead at the break.

Van Rensler — one of nine freshmen and four eighth-graders on the Buccaneers’ roster — stopped Williams on an eight-meter chance to open the second half, but the Pandas were able to score the next two goals. Shannon Salerni got the second of those after a save by Johnson, who hit Salerni with an outlet pass. Padua won a ground ball on the play, leading to a Buccaneers foul and the opportunity for Salerni.

After a timeout, the Buccaneers answered in quick succession with three goals, two of those by McLamb, as the lead reached four goals. Again, Padua responded. Mary Barone assisted on one goal, hitting Erin Sentman from behind the net, then Barone scored high. Van Rensler had a save after that to help keep the Pandas at bay.

The Buccaneers held an 11-7 lead in the closing minutes of the contest, but the Pandas added two goals in the last minute and nearly scored another.

Final statistics were not available Friday evening. The Buccaneers (1-1) travel to Sussex Academy on Monday at 4:30 p.m. as the end a season-opening three-game road trip. Padua (0-1) visits Caesar Rodney on Monday at 4 p.m.

All photos by Mike Lang.