On Friday, March 3, the girls’ varsity lacrosse team kicked the season off strong, with a dominant win against California High School (Cal High). The team lost many key seniors last year, and new players have had to step up for the Giants.

The first half was nail-biting as the score of the game remained close. Redwood scored to kick off the game, and shortly after, Cal High responded with a goal of their own. One goal after another from both teams left the Giants at only a two point lead of 9-7 going into halftime. Senior captain and goalie Emme Turkington acknowledged the challenges faced with the first half. 

“I think the first half was a little rough. We had seven starters who have never played varsity before, and four of them were freshmen, so it was all very new. I also think that everyone had first game nerves,” Turkington said.  

The start of the second half was strong for the Giants as junior Riley Peterson won the face off and stormed down the field. A foul resulted in an important goal scoring opportunity, in which Peterson powerfully placed the ball in the back of the net, extending the Giants’ lead to 10-7.  Turkington attributes the Giants’ strong second half start to the importance of Peterson coming into the game. 

“[Peterson is] so fast and was able to change the momentum of the game. This allowed everyone else to follow and push their pace in order to play each individual’s best game,” Turkington said. 

In the second half, Cal High did not score a single goal against the Giants. The defense remained solid and opportunities for goals were striking left and right. The girls continued to dominate, eventually landing them with a 10 point lead to end the game with a final score of 17-7.

For many players, this was their first lacrosse game on varsity, and for many of the new freshmen, including Nina Baker, this was her first high school lacrosse game. 

“It was definitely a little bit scary just how everything is the first time you do it. But, after the first couple of plays, I started to gain more confidence and settle down and play my game,” Baker said. 

With a very new team this season, the Giants are continuing to learn to work together and are looking forward for what is to come.

“We are really excited for this season and I think that it’s [going to] be a good one. I have full confidence that we will be seeing ourselves in the [Marin County Athletic League] championship,” Baker said.