Girls lacrosse: A few breaks from a great week

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Dan Pickens would like to see a few things go in his team’s favor in the final minutes of contests.

After a pair of tough losses last week, it appears Farmington’s girls lacrosse team is close to turning the corner, but Pickens thinks a change at the end needs to be made before losses turn into victories.

“I know we are improving, but it would be nice to be able to quantify it with some wins,” Pickens said after Friday’s 9-8 defeat at the hands of Prior Lake.

Haley Bradshaw, Rachael Welzin, Kylee Glen and Jess Erchul all got into the scoring column for the Tigers. Bradshaw scored four goals, while Welzin added a pair.

“Haley Bradshaw had another great performance, scoring four goals, which makes it 12 goals in her last three games,” Pickens said. “We just have to find a way to finish a game. We had this one under control and we couldn’t put it away. We were doing the things that we wanted to.”

The Tigers were winning draws (Haley Doll won 14 out of 17 for the Tigers), getting ball possession time and getting shots on goal.

“Despite being without defensive starters Kelli Harstad and Ashley Gandrud, we played well defensively,” Pickens said. “I can’t put my finger on what we are doing to cause us to not close out games. I guess we aren’t scoring enough in the second half down the stretch.”

Pickens also mentioned Kylee Glen and Delaney Johnson, who both played well in their first varsity starts.

One day earlier, the Tigers lost another hard-fought contest 19-15 against Minneapolis in a contest that went into overtime.

Bradshaw had six goals, while Adrienne Jolicoeur had five, and Ally Midboe and Erchul each had two.

Kaitlyn Lacroix had 7 saves on 26 shots against Minneapolis.

“We started off well, scoring six goals in the first eight minutes,” Pickens said. “Then we went through a little drought.”

Jolicoeur scored with only a few seconds left in regulation to force overtime. It was the final of five goals scored by the Tigers in regulation’s final four minutes.

“It was a great run of goals that showed the drive of our team,” Pickens said. “They never say quit.”

Along with the strong performance by the varsity, Farmington’s JV team improved its record to 4-4 with a 12-4 victory against Minneapolis. Kaeli Halverson led the JV team with four goals.

As the season comes to a close, Pickens is hoping a few slight adjustments can make the difference for the Tigers.

“We have two games left, and hopefully we can put it all together and finish strong,” he said.

Tags: girls lacrosse, sports, farmington, tigers, prep