HS Girls Lacrosse: Lady Highlanders Flex Offensive Might in Impressive Win

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- The Woodlands Lady Highlanders battled through the intense heat and humidity to earn a 13-10 win over the St. Michael’s Lady Warriors at Woodforest Bank Stadium.

Despite the heat and humidity making the playing field a swamp, practices in similar environments had readied the Lady Highlanders to take on opponents no matter the circumstances.

Through this preparation and determined attacks at the goal, The Woodlands asserted themselves early in the contest.

Attacker Jenna Robinson strode past the prying St. Michael defenders who tried in vain to keep the advancing Highlander from breaching the goal in less than a minute. But Robinson’s strong cradling and churning legs worked past the defense before finding the back of the net for the game's opening goal.

St. Michael was quick to respond with a tying goal of their own, and the remainder of the first quarter turned into a period of goals being traded back and forth.

Each step taken on the scoreboard by The Woodlands was reciprocated by the Lady Warriors just minutes later.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Lady Highlander Head Coach Maddy Wood discussed the team’s approach while engaged in back-and-forth scoring.

“Possession,” said Wood. “Possession of the ball and time management are our biggest concerns.”

The dust finally settled with the horn stopping play, and The Woodlands came out ahead by a score of 4-3.

The Lady Warriors wasted little time tying the game at four points apiece by winning the opening draw and turning it into a breakaway at the vulnerable Woodlands goal.

Fortunately for the Lady Highlanders, they earned some breathing room on the scoreboard during the second quarter by utilizing steady passes to cutters that had broken into the heart of the Lady Warrior defense.

This approach was best demonstrated by a superb pass into a gap in the St. Michael defense, where the outstretched stick of Tabi Reardon reeled in the pass before rocketing in a shot to put The Woodlands back up by one.

Reardon’s effort was compounded by three straight goals from Robinson that stretched the Lady Highlander lead to its widest margin.

“I just think that having the first step on your defender, once you have that first step, it gives me all the confidence I need,” said Robinson. “I’m always talking to myself like, ‘Yeah. You got this.’ And I have all of my teammates cheering for me, it helps a lot.”

The work from Robinson, along with the near shutout put on by the Lady Highlander defense, left The Woodlands with an 8-4 lead heading into the half.

Intense attacking and multi-level threats from The Woodlands encapsulate the intense potential within the Lady Highlander program, with multiple players poised to take their talents to the collegiate level.

“The health of the game and this team starts at the middle school program. We’re so happy that we have so many coaches in that program,” said Wood. “It’s amazing to see how this team continues to grow, not only as people, but also as players.”

Additionally, the club-like atmosphere of multiple athletes coming from different high schools lends a layer of complexity when trying to connect teammates into a cohesive unit.

“It feels so invigorating to see girls from all over and we can all connect that easily,” said Robinson. “This is probably our best game of the season, so we connected very well even though we don’t see each other every day at school.”

The break for halftime provided opportunities for players to rest away from the unrelenting heat of the afternoon sun while keeping the team locked in on their execution.

“Obviously, it's hot out here and both teams were dying to get out of it,” said Wood. “The biggest thing offensively was that we had to hold the ball as much as possible. Taking the ball around once or twice, then setting up into a play.”

Tired legs in the midfield needed attention, and the adjustments in attack aimed to relieve them while simultaneously eating the clock.

“It was about being patient and shaving off as much time as possible,” said Wood. “It gives our midies a break.”

A sprinting flurry from the Lady Highlanders off the draw catapulted the team toward an early goal that was driven home by Reardon. The 13-second goal completed the second hat-trick of the game for The Woodlands, with Reardon joining Robinson as one of the game’s most prolific threats.

“I’m definitely keeping track, because I feel like it’s more of a confidence booster for myself,” said Robinson. “I look at it like if I’m scoring goals, not only is it for me, it’s for the girls I’m with on the field.”

The dynamic scoring tandem of Robinson and Reardon added to the steadily growing cushion on the scoreboard, extending the Lady Highlanders’ lead to six.

“I think our biggest strong suit is that, yes, we have Tabi and Jenna, but we have so many players that can shoot the ball,” explained Wood. “We don’t rely on one single player to make all the plays.”

St. Michael’s did not take the advance from The Woodlands lying down. A series of attacks that harkened back to the first quarter saw the Lady Warriors score their largest amount of goals since the opening frame.

Back-to-back unanswered goals from the Lady Warriors ate into the Lady Highlanders' lead enough to shrink the score down to four for a brief stretch.

Luckily for The Woodlands, a timely goal on a coast-to-coast take by the defense rebuilt the lead slightly before the end of the third.

The Woodlands’ 12-7 advantage kept the team in control ahead of the final quarter, but the focus was still locked in on performing to their expected level.

“We knew we were going to play in this stadium and in this weather against a team that’s been our biggest competitors for a good three seasons,” said Wood. “A lot of it has been conditioning in practice, conditioning in between our drills in order to make them tired so when we went out and played, we knew what to expect.”

As had become the standard for every other quarter, a quick burst of speed off the draw got The Woodlands in prime position to go back up by six.

Passing behind the goal found yards of open space for the red-hot Robinson to take a shot while balancing just outside the crease. The sure-fire attacker rounded the goal and pinged a shot into the net for another goal that put the team up 13-7 in less than a minute.

“It’s definitely important. We really work on it in practice,” said Robinson on the team’s affinity toward the draw. “It makes a point to get us moving quickly to the goal.”

Briefly undoing The Woodlands’ strides were a handful of penalties and fouls on defense that allowed the Lady Warriors to reset on the offensive. Fresh sets and an advantage on penalties compounded into St. Michael’s chipping the lead back down to five, but it could have been more.

Emmaline Conner stood as a brick wall in the Lady Highlander goal, creating several deflections and saves that constantly turned away the increasingly desperate Lady Warrior attackers. Were it not for her determined defense, St. Michael’s would have drastically increased their chances of completing the comeback.

“She’s probably one of our best players on the team. She is the goalie. She runs that defense down there,” said Wood in praise of Conner’s efforts. “She really stepped it up in the second half, not only with her saves, not only with her clears, but also with her communication.”

However, the Woodlands defense was not impenetrable. Sly receptions from the Lady Warriors worked the ball into soft spots that were exploited late in the game. These soft spots turned into more penalties or goals, preventing the game from being a Lady Highlander runaway.

The Lady Warriors outscored The Woodlands three to one in the closing quarter, but the Lady Highlanders' lead was too much to overcome down the stretch.

Patient play on the offensive attack allowed the Lady Highlanders to hold onto the ball for lengthy stretches, effectively ending St. Michael’s chances without surrendering possession.

The final buzzer sounded inside Woodforest Bank Stadium, ending the noon matchup in a 13-10 win for The Woodlands.

“I’m very proud of my girls. With the weather, this heat, and the way St. Michael’s was playing, I couldn’t be prouder of how they pushed through and played whistle to whistle,” said Wood. “This was definitely one of the best games that we have played all season, and it's amazing to watch these girls continue to grow as we move throughout the season.”

It will be a quick turnaround for the Lady Highlanders, with their next game set for March 30th against Austin Westlake at the Alden Bridge Sports Fields, with Varsity set to start at 12:30.

*Special thanks to the parents and coaches of The Woodlands Lacrosse Program for their help in this story.*