AV Girls LAX - Varsity

5/4/2018

Foothill has had some notable wins against team like Carondalet and California. They had as good a chance as anyone to upset the Dons. The opening draw saw Amador start to charge but an immediate turnover allowed foothill to go on the offensive. A quick drive put the Falcons up 1-0. It was Foothill’s turn to turnover after the draw. Grace French took the ground ball up for the Dons but an unfortunate drop out of bounds gave the ball back to foothill. Goalie Risa Gough would defend the shot, for a save, allowing Amador to go on the attack. The Falcons would draw a quick yellow for a tomahawk check. Manos would drive and get to the line for a penalty goal. Foothill would miss an opportunity out of the draw and send the shot wide. Good defensive movement contributed to the errant shot. Amador would recover, and this time send a clean transition. Bella Mayo would roll from X and slide inside for a bounce shot goal. Out of the draw Amador would threaten, but incredible Falcon goalie play and defense would reject three shot attempts. Foothill would drive strong and roll back several defenders but get a push call. The Falcon penalty shot would convert. Amador would drive from draw and earn shooting space. Mady Sweeney would turn away and Mayo would take the ball in for another shooting space call. This time the penalty would be good, 3-2. The next draw would see a fierce battle at the center. Amador would come away and send to Mackenzie Riddle at X. Riddle would rotate and drill a hard pass to Kalena Johnson waiting in the center. Johnson would easily convert. Marley Diligent was starting to rule the ground balls in the center of the draw. Amador would position for a set play. Manos would hold the ball at X and then drive inward to score. Mayo’s draw would fly high and reach the 30 yard line where Kylie Racer was waiting to pick the ball up as it crossed. Grace French would aid the transition and send to Mackenzie Riddle. Riddle would be placed on the line for a halo penalty but would be turned away. Mayo would drive right back at the Falcons and get taken down to the ground on a push call. Her penalty would score to give the Dons a 6-2 advantage. Foothill goes on an incredible surg and starts chipping away at the Don lead. Defense would earn a ground ball where Alexis Bayani would weave traffic several times to advance to midfield. Unfortunately, she swarmed before she could hand off and turned over the ball. Foothill would capitalize and another goal later would be tied 6-6. Defense was able to hold and get a clean transition to offense. Bella would send another strong shot but was deflected. Mady Sweeney would scoop the ground ball and earn a goal to give Amador the lead back. Amador would play fierce defense to prevent a last minute goal. Grace French would get a knockdown to end the half.

The opening of the second half saw good defense by both sides. Of note was another save by the rookie goalie, Risa Gough. Grace French tallied another knock down for defense. Amador would transition to Mady Sweeney who was being repeatedly assaulted with checks. The referees finally whistled a yellow card against Foothill. Amador was unable to convert on their adavantage. Grace French would draw a defensive charge. Amador would cycle the ball through offense attempting patience. Sophia Shiblaq would get in close for a goal but would be waived off for crease violation. Foothill goes the other way with strong speed to tie the game. Miley Smith would take the next drive in and be sent to the ground. She would make the Falcons pay by converting her penalty shot. The falcons would answer by setting up a play and allowing their attack to send a brush shot in for goal. Another Defensive knock down would allow for a smooth transition to offense. Miley Smith would draw the shooting space violation. Smith would pass into the low post, but a miscommunication would see the pass go out of bounds. Defense would scramble and work their magic to hold back the Falcons. Foothill would run an isolation play through their best scorer to go up 8-9. Foothill would catch fire, win the draw, and score on a shooting space violation. The pressure started to creep up for the Amador fans. Amador would respond out of the draw. Bella Mayo would take a determined drive in to narrow the falcon lead. Lily Manos would force a turnover and get the Dons an opportunity. Isa Clark would receive the ball and get a push penalty during her drive. Clark’s penalty shot would be saved by the stout Falcon goalie. On the Falcon transition Kiki Sweeney would earn a turnover. Sweeney would lead the transition. Multiple attempts at goal were missed. Bella Mayo would drive hard from the top and convert to tie the match. Foothill would threaten in the closing minute. Grace French would get a takeaway. Lily Manos would drive but her shot would be deflected as time expired in regulation. 3 minutes of sudden death overtime would be set on the clock. Amador would take an initial attempt at goal and be sent the other direction. Defense would collapse inward and give up a shooting space violation. Risa Gough would make an incredible save. The stands erupted with excitement for her. Foothill would scramble to pick up the loose ball. Seeing the time down, the Foothill attacker would send a desperation shot low. To Amador’s dismay it would find the back of the net. Foothill would earn a righteous win on rivalry night. The Dons put up quite a battle but couldn’t close this match like they’ve done so many times before. Rivalry games are funny in that there are never any clear favorites.

Senior night festivities were underway all-day long. Custom morning beverages were brought to the seniors. The team gathered for lunch together. And all the players had special senior night shirts specially made. A lot of good vibes indeed.

It was going to be interesting to see, how the seniors would respond, to their last regular season home game. Amador came away with the opening draw but would be immediately deflected and sent away. Campolindo would pass toward the crease and drive for goal. A costly draw penalty, against the Cougars, would award Bella Mayo with the ball. Mayo would drive hard to goal and quickly tie the match. Campolindo would respond with an immediate drive to goal of their own. Risa Gough returned to the goalie box for Amador. She would quickly earn two back to back saves and send the Dons charging. The Dons would draw an illegal check and yellow card against the Cougars. The advantage would give Lily Manos a chance to drive and score. Kaitlyn Sweeney would knock down a pass to create a turnover. Then Lily Manos would once again drive to goal, 3-2. Campolindo would call time-out to regroup. Marley Diligent would create a check, for turnover, at the draw. Anna Ford would drive past X and crease roll. Ford then weaved back in forth to dodge defenders and sent a quick shot through, an opening, for goal. Campolindo would take possession for a draw violation. The Cougars would take the opportunity to rail off three back to back aggressive goals. On the last goal of three, Campolindo would drive hard to goal. Amador’s Alexis Bayani would meet the defender and be immediately rolled back and taken to the ground by the driving Cougar midfielder. The midfielder would snap off a goal and a no call by the officials would stand. Bayani would exit the game for concussion surveillance. Catherine Murphy would enter the draw circle for Amador. Bella Mayo would take the draw win and drive. She would earn a penalty line goal, from a push violation. Another draw violation would give Amador possession again. Kalena Johnson would drive and pivot on a dime, to lose her defender, then take a well-placed shot to give the Dons the lead again. Campolindo would answer with a converted shooting space violation. Amador was cycling their offense and setting plays. Multiple shots went wide. FInally, Bella Mayo would finally earn a shooting space violation for goal. Good patience paid off. The defense stood firm as the Cougars attempted to probe. Grace French lead the transition and passed back to a driving Bella Mayo. Mayo would be placed on the line for shooting space and convert. Amador would win another draw. Mady Sweeney was driving and looking for cutters but lost control of the ball. Kylie Racer would grab the loose ball and immediately drive forward and score. Just when we thought there was some breathing room at 9-6 Campolindo would again mount a come back to tie up the game. Marley Diligent would win a draw and immediately pass off to Mady Sweeney who would earn a goal. Amador would lose possession off a green card violation second to having mouth guards half way out of the player’s mouth. The Cougars would immediately capitalize and drive for goal. After Campolindo earned the draw Grace French and Anna Ford combined to force a turnover. Amador would be immediately checked out. Bella Mayo in a very athletic move would reach, to knock down the Campolindo pass, for another turnover. Amador would take a strike at goal, but an incredible goalie save would send the Cougars the other way for goal. Out of the draw Anna Ford would use her screens, and back and forth jukes to create another goal for Amador. Amador threatened to strike in the closing seconds of the half but a charge call was signaled. Defense made a strong stand to deny any last minute heroics by the Cougars. It was 11 all in a tightly contested shoot out.

Out of the half Bella Mayo again drove and swerved for a quick goal. Risa Gough would save another Cougar strike. Marley Diligent would swoop up the ground ball and pass of to Grace French. French would find Kalena Johnson and the shot would be just wide. Both teams would battle back and forth a few rounds. The scoring would exchange in some tightly contested shots by both sides. Despite the high scoring game the defense for Amador was having some brilliant moments. Bella Mayo would find an opportunity off an isolation play to tie the match at 14 all. In another incredible no call event, the Cougar attack would hit Grace French in the head during the follow through of a goal shot. Campolindo would call a timeout after winning the draw. This was a huge chance to break the Dons. Again the defense held strong, and fierce ball pressure created a turnover. The transition went clean and Amador would tie again with under 5 minutes of play. Campolindo would respond and have the Dons out of position on the penalty shot. The shooter would pass into the low post for a swift conversion to give the Cougars the lead again. Out of the Draw Kalena Johnson would find Mackenzie Riddle. Riddle was able to maneuver from the low post to high center of the 8 and earn a shooting space. Her goal would create mayhem in the stands as the game was tied again with under two minutes of play. All of a sudden, the Cougars couldn’t win a draw when it counted the most. Bella Mayo would again be on the penalty line. She would drive and appear to turn around, before attacking again, for the go-ahead goal, with 50 seconds left on the clock. The Dons would win the draw and create desperation from the Cougars, who immediately began to double team whoever had the ball. Amador maneuvered and passed off at a high level. Team Co-Captain Anna Ford held the ball in the closing seconds. Bella Mayo would drive and call for ball. A perfect pass to Mayo’s open left shoulder would be caught and fired for an emphatic closing goal. The final score would be 18-16, the largest combined goal total in the last two years of play. The team held off a furious Campolindo attack tonight. I do want to credit the incredible play off all three seniors in tonight’s game. Kayleigh Young had stout defense and multiple transition drives where she evaded the defense and made clean passes. Co-Captain Mackenzie Riddle with an incredible game tying goal in the closing minutes. Anna Ford with a couple goals and incredible energy to rally her team. The Senior night shootout couldn’t have ended any better!

We are reposting the Senior Night scripts for our three amazing seniors!

Anna Ford

Up first we have #8 captain senior attacker Anna Ford who is joined by her whole crew tonight including her parents Peter and Jennifer, her younger siblings, Zach, Jacob and Julia, and her grandparents Jackie and Jerry Cullen and Karen Ford.

Anna started playing lacrosse as a freshman in high school and has played on Varsity all four years here at Amador. Fellow senior classmate Mackenzie Riddle first got Anna into lacrosse, thank you Mackie!

In her Career at Amador, Anna has collected 34 goals, 18 assists, 19 ground balls, and 6 caused turnovers. During her junior year she received EBAL All League Honorable Mention for attack and was also given the Amador Coaches Award.

Anna’s favorite memory with Amador lacrosse was during her junior year when she got the ball stuck in her stick during the intense Dougherty Valley Game. She reached down and grabbed the ball out of her stick with her hand and then got called for it since it’s illegal to touch the ball with your hands. Anna will never live this down!

In Addition to Anna being a well rounded lacrosse player, she is heavily involved in her school and is active in the community. Anna has been in Leadership for the past few years at Amador and never misses the opportunity to be involved. She runs the Amador Sudoku Club and and is a LINK Coordinator. Anna has also been a standout in the classroom and has been a scholar athlete each year at Amador.

In the Fall, Anna will attend the University of San Diego to study Mechanical Aerospace Engineering in the Air Force ROTC Program! Go Toreros!

Congratulations to #8 Anna Ford!

Kaylee Young

Up next we have #18 senior defender, Kaylee Young who is joined tonight by her Dad Jim, her Mom Kristina, and her younger brother Max.

Kaylee started playing lacrosse at the age of 11 for Pleasanton Pride and has played on Varsity all four years at Amador. She has played both attack and defense during her high school career.

During her time as an Amador Lacrosse player, Kaylee has collected 16 goals, 5 assists, and 10 ground balls.

Kaylee’s favorite memory during her time on Amador Lacrosse was when the team was playing in the NCS Championship game against Novato in 2015 and she scored a goal as a freshmen! The Dons were runner up that year, but the goal is something Kaylee will never forget!

Kaylee has not only been a stud lacrosse player at Amador but is also involved across town helping multiple organizations. She is a NCJLA referee and is involved in helping coach the Pleasanton Pride U8 lacrosse teams this year. Kaylee has also volunteered with Special Olympics and the San Francisco Food Bank. She has a full course load and has taken multiple honors and AP classes here at Amador.

Kaylee will be attending Chico State University in the Fall and will join their nursing program. Go Wildcats!

Congratulations to #18 Kaylee Young!

Mackenzie Riddle

Last, but certainly not least we have #32 captain senior attacker Mackenzie Riddle who is joined tonight by her parents Jared and Laurie and her younger sister Madelynn who just finished playing in an awesome JV game.

Mackie first picked up a lacrosse stick as a freshman in high school and has played at Amador all four years.

During her Varsity Lacrosse career at Amador, Mackie has recorded 15 goals, 10 assists and 9 ground balls. As a freshman, she was the Girls JV Lacrosse MVP and in 2016 she was voted the Best JV Attacker.

Mackie’s favorite memory with Amador lacrosse has been playing with her sister. They have such great chemistry on and off the field and have a lot of fun together playing a sport they love.

Mackie has been a true leader on the lacrosse field, on campus and in the community. During her sophomore year, Mackie was the class secretary/treasure and this year is the Senior Class President at Amador. She is also part of the National Charity League where she has volunteered for organizations like Adopt-A-Family and has completed over 671 hours of community service since 2013.

In the Fall, Mackie will attend the University of Oregon to study nutrition. Go Ducks!

Congratulations to #32 Mackenzie Riddle!

Congratulations to all of our seniors for what they have accomplished both on and off the field! We will miss you next year and wish you the best of luck with your college adventures. GO DONS!

The Dons had an early Saturday wake up call for the game Vs Marin Catholic. I think the sting of defeat against Sacred Heart Prep had the girls fired up. They quickly took up a commanding lead and never looked back. The Wildcats were limited to 3 goals. The game featured a lot of good offense and defense from the Dons. The Wildcats were just over matched against a very motivated Amador squad.

It was hard to gauge how good Sacred Heart Prep was prior to the game. Many of their opponents were out of state or CCS rivals. The first several minutes of the match looked to be exciting as both squads initially played well. However, we had several errors that just cost us opportunities. The initial goal was a patented Mayo drive from draw. The next series had a great defensive knock down by Grace French, but we immediately turned over the ball to an off-sides penalty. The Gators went to work offensively and despite good defensive stands, they were able to patiently put up three goals. The Gators must have had a conference with Davis because they slowed the tempo down and were very patient. Amador would work at a furious pace to throughout the match to score but the Sacred Heart goalie was very quick and stood like a wall against multiple shots on goal. Despite multiple saves by the Gators, the Dons crawled back to tie the game at 3-3. Out of a Sacred Heart timeout, Amador was able to force a turnover, but a sloppy pass sent the ball out of bounds. AV would false start at the draw giving the Gators another opportunity. Amador would then commit another transition pass turnover. Coupled with a very patient and accurate Gator offense, Amador would enter the break stunned with a 3-7 deficit. The half time rest wouldn’t slow the gators much. A blown defensive assignment allowed SHP another goal. Sophia Shiblaq would breath some home into the Dons with a successful penalty line conversion. The Dons would continue with turnovers. Thankfully, Claire Lemelin had a save of her own. Marley Diligent would pick up the ground ball and transition to Manos on a crease roll to bring the match to 5-10. Amador would threaten on the next attack. If we could just build some momentum our fast pace offense would take care of us. Unfortunately, a dropped ball turnover would send the Gators on offense. Defense would play fierce, but the Gators would just patiently keep scoring. The Dons offense would keep pace with the Gators in the second half but was never able to make ground on the large first half deficit. There were 19 shots on goal, but only 7 would find the back of the net. It was a tough match where too many mistakes were made. The Gators should be credited for making minimal errors, executing a patient offense, and having spectacular goalie play. This would be the largest losing differential in the last two years. Hopefully the Dons can bounce back quickly!