After a strong league opener against Woodside Priory, girls’ varsity lacrosse (3-4 overall, 1-2 West Bay Athletic League Skyline Division) struggled to keep their momentum going in a tough 17-9 loss to Hillsdale High School on Friday, March 22. The Panthers fought extremely hard despite unfavorable conditions — pouring rain, a very physical Knights squad and multiple controversial calls by the referees.  

The Panthers played strong defense in the first quarter, keeping the game close. Sophomore Lila Edmondson and senior Zaina Michael greatly contributed on the back line, turning defense into offense. However, in the second quarter, the Knights converted on numerous scoring opportunities, netting five goals and leaving Burlingame down by six at halftime. Sophomore Haleh Ansari, who scored five of the nine Panther goals, acknowledged that it was hard to keep up with Hillsdale’s speed and ability to cause quick turnovers. 

“They had a lot of fast breaks where they came in really fast. If we weren’t able to get back soon enough, they would just drive in past us and score right away,” Ansari said. 

As the game progressed, the Panthers tightened their defense again, giving up just five more goals in the second half. But the offense couldn’t produce enough chances, as they could only put three more away themselves. Going forward, senior Alex Hollrah emphasized the importance of changing the defensive strategy when the offense struggles to score goals. 

“I think we need to get better at adapting. I feel like we’re making a lot of the same mistakes over and over again,” Hollrah said. “So I think we need to be more adaptive, kind of talk through those mistakes a little bit more, and try different things to stop that from happening.”

However, despite the losses early on in the season, the team has greatly improved their skills and teamwork overall since the beginning of the year. 

“I think we’ve improved a lot on our fundamental skills. We’ve also done a bit of a better job of working together with each other to play,” Ansari said. 

As the team gets more league experience under their belt, Hollrah is optimistic and looking forward to the rest of the season and seeing the team develop even further.  

“Obviously, [it] is a little bit heartbreaking knowing we aren’t going to have another perfect season, like last year, but I can definitely see that we’re gonna have another strong season,” Hollrah said. “People are starting to build off each other really well. Plays are starting to come together really well. So I think we’re starting to improve to a point where we’re getting [to be] technical as a team.”

Burlingame has an excellent opportunity to secure a second league win when they square off against Sequoia High School on Wednesday, March 27.