For the second year in a row the Issaquah girls lacrosse team reigned supreme in the most pressure-packed matchup of the season.
Issaquah’s squad, which is comprised of athletes from Skyline High School, Issaquah High School, Liberty High School and Forest Ridge, defeated Bainbridge 11-8 to win its second consecutive Washington Lacrosse Girls state championship on May 15 at Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish.
Issaquah finished the 2015 season with an overall record of 16-0. The lacrosse program has won its past 28 games in a row. Issaquah head coach Penny Moss was overcome with emotion following a clutch performance against a talented Bainbridge roster.
“I’m in shock. I know my girls are good but they’re incredible,” Moss said of the win. “They work so well as a team. They know what to do all the time. They know how to pull it all together. I’m so impressed.”
Sophomore Hannah Meier led Issaquah’s offense, scoring all three of her goals in the first half of play. Meg Corscadden, Suzy Emerson and Nicole Victory added two goals apiece. Haley Johnson and Kameron Ramirez each scored a goal as well for Issaquah. Issaquah started off the game strong, building a 8-5 lead at halftime. Bainbridge closed Issaquah’s lead to two goals three separate times in the second half but couldn’t get any closer. Issaquah sophomore goalie Katie Earll registered eight of her 11 saves in the second half, stalling Bainbridge’s comeback bid.
“That was absolutely the game of her life,” Moss said of Earll’s performance. “She saved the game for sure. She absolutely, to me, is the MVP (of the game).”
Earll acknowledged she felt the pressure of the game, especially in the second half as the minutes and seconds trickled off the clock.
“There was definitely some pressure. As a team we pulled together, we just held them at a certain point in the second half. That’s what we needed to do to stop the momentum,” Earll said.
With a three-goal lead in place as the final seconds of play withered away, Earll admitted she began her championship celebration a tad early on her side of the field of play.
“I actually started running out of the goal a little bit early. It was amazing. It took me back to last year (state championship in 2014) too. It was awesome,” Earll said.
The second state title meant more to Earll than the 2014 state title because of the challenges her team faced.
“I feel like this year is better because it shows who we are as a team since we lost of bunch of seniors last year. We came back and won it all again,” she said.
Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@bellevuereporter.com
