As rain falls during the fourth quarter, the crowd anticipates the last few minutes of the match. After close scores and ties throughout the game, cheers erupt from the stands as Coppell senior attack Kate Nelson secures the ball and scores with a minute remaining, securing the win for Coppell girls lacrosse team.
Coppell defeated Lovejoy, 15-13, on Tuesday evening at Coppell Middle School North.
The Coppell girls lacrosse team (6-3-0 overall, 5-2-0 in Division II North) is currently second in the division, with Lovejoy (2-5-0, 2-3-0) trailing behind at seventh.
“Going into the game they felt ready, and practice on Monday was phenomenal,” Coppell coach Emily Doran said.
A back-and-forth game with a one-point difference and tied scores throughout, Coppell did not pull ahead with a significant lead until the fourth quarter.
”In timeout, I challenged them to continue to build the momentum and be the energy changers,” Doran said. “They went out there and executed it beautifully.”
During the fourth quarter, the team made the decision to make sure they controlled possession for the four minutes remaining in the game. In order to do this, Coppell players looked to slow the ball and fast break opportunities instead of pushing them.
“Once they scored one more, we were like ‘OK, go,” and they scored again and sealed the deal so we could stall,” Doran said. “That was definitely a shift from our opportunities and what we practiced going into this game.”
With a mentality of keeping the score within three points, Coppell succeeded and came out of the game victorious. Significant plays in the fourth quarter contributed to the lively atmosphere and quicker pace.
“There was a play at the end where we were on defense and Ally Gunnels got the interception, ran it down, passed it to Kate, Kate passed to me and I scored,” Coppell senior midfield Sydney Gunnels said. “It was an all around team effort from defense to offense.”
The game started 30 minutes prior to its scheduled time of 7:30 p.m in anticipation of rain. Light showers started in the fourth quarter.
Coppell plays at Highland Park on Thursday.
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