Girls Lacrosse: Cougars Suffer First Loss

The Oakton High girls lacrosse team's undefeated season ended with a 19-6 loss to Georgetown Visitation, who ESPN has ranked the 15th best team in the nation.

The Cougars scored first in the game, with a goal from Allison Turk on an assist from Carly Palmucci about a minute into the game. They maintained possession for much of the first five minutes, giving Alex Revel the opportunity to score her unassisted goal to put the Cougars up 2-0. 

But once the Cubs took possession, they quickly scored three goals in a row to pull ahead.

With about 12:15 on the clock in the first half, senior Jackie Rupp netted another goal for the Cougars to once again tie the game. Then the Cubs went on a scoring rally over the next four minutes to pull ahead 6-3, and would hold the lead for the rest of the game. 

"This game can be very predictable. If you don't get the draw, you don't have the ball, so you don't have the advantage," Coach Jean Counts said. "We were very even with that in the first half."

The first half ended with the Cubs up 11-5, the Cougars having scored two more goals from Alex Revel and Carly Palmucci on an assist from Revel. 

The Cubs maintained their dominance over the Cougars into the second half, scoring three goals in the first seven minutes before the Cougars answered with an unassisted goal from Rupp — the Cougars' only goal of the second half. The Cubs scored five more goals, ending the game 19-6 to remain undefeated.

"I think they adjusted, but I also think maybe we backed down," Counts said. "We just talked to the girls about how this was not necessarily a physical loss but a mental loss."

A game against a team of the Cubs' caliber helped to expose weaknesses Counts said she will be addressing in practices this week.

"I think we've got to start with basic defense. I felt like they ran through our defense like we weren't even there on a few plays," Counts said. "It's something I noticed during the Langley game last week, too. We have to be a lot tighter when we're marking [our opponents]."

The Cougars will travel to Hilton Head, N.C., over Oakton High's spring break to participate in a tournament. They will begin Concorde District play upon their return against Centreville at home April 13.