Photo by Nick Skaggs
By Karan Bhatnagar
After dropping from first to fifth place in EBAL standings, the women’s lacrosse team look to rebound after a disappointing four games.
Cal is ranked among the top 15 teams in the state and among the top 150 in the nation as the Grizzlies have rolled to a 7-4 record overall, 2-3 EBAL so far this season.
Cal traveled to Livermore on Friday to take on the Cowboys. Results were not available before The Californian went to press.
Despite a shocking two-game losing streak, and dropping three of their last four games, the Grizzlies are still a force to be reckoned with.
The ladies are currently ranked 13th in the state behind EBAL powerhouses Monte Vista (9-0, 1st in state) and Carondolet (11-0, 3rd).
Cal hosts Carondolet today at 7 p.m. It is the first meeting of the season for the two teams.
The ladies had dropped consecutive to Foothill 11-8 on March 30 and to Monte Vista 14-10 on April 2 before beating San Ramon Valley 17-5 on April 13.
“It was a lack of practices because if we would have caught the ball, we be would have basically won the game,” sophomore Jenna Herana said of the Monte Vista game. “We played more as individuals than as a team.”
The Mustangs are tied atop the EBAL with Carondolet.
“Monte Vista played well and they got to the ball quicker than we did,” said coach Scott Corso. “Basically they had more possessions.”
In the San Ramon game, senior Jocelyn Algieri lead Cal with five goals and junior Julia Alvey added five assists.
Unfortunately, the ladies could not build on the momentum from that victory as they lost a non-league game in San Francisco to St. Ignatius 13-9 on Thursday.
Senior goalie had a season-high 10 saves against St. Ignatius (7-4, 11th in state). Senior Courtney Randall had three points to lead the Grizzlies.
Corso still believes his team still has a chance to compete as the season progresses.
“We’re 2-3 in league and we’d like to think we are a contender,” said Corso. “So we need to talk about struggles and get back on track to see success or it will be very tough.”
The recent struggles of the team don’t concern Corso, who wants to see improvement on the defensive end of the field.
“Our defense has been a main focus of ours,” said Corso. “We are working on our footwork and being an aggressive team on the defensive end.”
As the season moves on, Cal will need to defeat Monte Vista and Foothill to try and earn another trip to the NCS finals.
