Friday, March 29th, 2024 Church Directory
THE BIG LAKE GIRLS LACROSSE TEAM saluted the starters in last Saturday’s match against Grand Rapids. (Submitted Photo).

Hornet girls lacrosse team loses 3

The Big Lake girls lacrosse team came up empty in three matches this past week.

Grand Rapids 16, Big Lake 2

On May 14, the Hornets left early Saturday morning for their game against Grand Rapids.

Big Lake expected Grand Rapids Greenway to be a tough opponent, which was made evident only a few minutes into the first half. The Hornet defense was playing solid, but Grand Rapids had a talented group of offensive players. It wasn’t until Big Lake was down 11-0 when Bailey Isaacson found the back of the net — assisted by a pass from Hailey Schuller. The half ended with Grand Rapids up 11-1.

In the second half, the Hornets made a few adjustments with the goal of slowing down the talented Grand Rapids offense. The team came together with an objective of keeping Grand Rapids to 16 goals or less, and to also try and get a couple goals back. 

Big Lake started the second half strong, limiting the shots on goal as well as keeping GRG to the outside. 

“Though we were having more success with our defensive end, Grand Rapids got a couple more goals,” said Big Lake Head Coach Lindsey Hartfiel. 

But not before a play started from Alynna Acosta, who was able to get the ball to Grace Dols, who powered her way in to score Big Lake’s second goal of the night. The final was a 16-2 loss. 

Big Lake’s junior varsity started out the day with goals by Eden Dixon, Bailey Isaacson, Mackenzie Dembinski, Aryona Woods assisted by Abby Polacec, and the final goal was made by Abby Polacec. This was Aryona’s first goal of the season. The final was a 7-5 loss, but was a well played game from Big Lake’s junior varsity squad.

Brainerd 9 , Big Lake 3

Big Lake traveled to Brainerd on May 16 where they knew they’d face another tough opponent, but the Hornet girls came out hard playing solid defense and working as a team. 

“We held Brainerd off the board for nearly the first 10 minutes of play,” said a proud Hartfiel. 

The Hornets finished the half only down by a score of 3-0, with seven saves made by Hornet goalie Eden Dixon.

Brainerd came out quick with a goal in the second half to extend their lead. Shortly after Big Lake went down a man, Brainerd capitalized scoring a goal while they were short. 

“Our defense was playing solid, but Brainerd found their way through the  few gaps,” said Hartfiel. “It took our team until the final few minutes to find the scoresheet.” 

This first goal started from a face-off won by Amber Grunewald, who moved up the field and found Amelia Gardners stick, who scored to steal the shutout. 

Not long after that, Amber won another draw running down the field, and was fouled in the eight meter arc,  so she was awarded a free position shot. She did not waste the opportunity and put her shot in the back of the net. 

Big Lake’s final goal came in the closing minutes with another play started by a pass from Amber, who sent a beautiful pass to the front of the net to Amelia who cashed in for her second goal of the evening. The match ended in a 9-3 loss for the visitors.

Monticello 9, Big Lake 1

This was the first and only meeting for Big Lake’s girls against Monticello this season as they hosted the Magic on May 17. 

“We knew they would be a tough opponent as last season they had quite a few of talented players on their roster,” said Hartfiel. “They have been a competitive program for several years. Once the game started we seemed to be a little overwhelmed by their passing and cutting ability.”

The Magic got on the scoresheet pretty early into the game, but Big Lake’s defensive core and midfielders found a way to hold them off. The first half finished with Big Lake down by a score of 4-0. 

At halftime, Big Lake made the point of trying to get on the scoresheet, while also doing their best to hold Monticello off. It took some time in the second half before Monticello found the back of the net, but they were only able to net five goals for the half. 

Big Lake did live up to their aim of getting on the scoresheet with a hard nosed goal by Grace Dols. That would be Big Lake’s lone goal of the evening. 

Eden Dixon finished the game with a  .500+ save percentage for the evening keeping her in the top ranked goalies in the state. 

Up Next

Big Lake’s next game is Thurs., May 26 on the road against Chisago Lakes at 6 p.m., which is their last regular season game.