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BHS tallies 14-7 victory vs. Menlo

James Wiseman
Thursday April 06, 2000

Daily Planet Staff 

 

The Yellowjackets spotted the Menlo School girls lacrosse team two first-half goals before finally getting on the board on Wednesday, but in the end, Berkeley’s game-long consistency on offense proved too much for outmatched Menlo to handle. When the dust settled, the ’Jackets had improved their league record to 6-3, doubling up their hosts, 14-7. 

The victory completed the series sweep for Berkeley, which first defeated Menlo, 17-7, in the 2000 season opener at a neutral location in Davis. Though BHS head coach Lia Farley was concerned by the two early scores her squad relented, she left Menlo’s home field impressed with her offense’s overall effectiveness and balance. 

“We’ve been trying to work on ball movement, that’s one of our goals for the rest of the season,” Farley said. “We had the largest amount of people taking shots in this game. (Besides the usual scorers), three other players stepped up and contributed to the attack.” 

Dani Ganes had a brilliant performance on offense, netting a game-high five goals, as one of three BHS attackers to post at least three goals. Jamie Lee and Naomi Coffman took home the other two hat tricks, splitting the pipes three times apiece. Elizabeth Howe and Anna Russell rounded out the scoring, combining for three goals to spread the BHS scoring out among five players.  

“We had really good transition today. Much better passes and catches, especially in the second half,” said Lee, the team’s leading scorer to this point. “We expected to win the game, and at first we played kind of sloppy. (When they went ahead 2-0), it woke us up.” 

“I think we made some headway,” Farley added. “It’s hard to know, playing against a weaker opponent.” 

As in Saturday’s game, the ’Jackets went with two goalkeepers vs. Menlo, with sophomore Joanna Hoch playing the first half and junior Kristen Brasch tending net in the second. Despite the convincing victory, the squad feels there is plenty of room for improvement, on offense and defense. 

“We wanted to win (the Menlo) game to make ourselves feel better,” Lee said, “but I don’t think we played to our full potential today.” 

According to the Yellowjackets, Wednesday’s victory marked a big step in erasing the memory of Saturday’s loss to St. Ignatius High – a game that was thought to have demoralized the team. Farley admits she was not impressed with her squad’s effort against SI, and hopes it will approach this Friday’s showdown with Bishop O’Dowd with more enthusiasm. 

“There was some sting (after the SI loss). Unfortunately, we felt the intensity was lacking against St. Ignatius,” the coach said. “We try to use games against the easier teams as learning experiences, and with the harder teams, we do the same thing.” 

“Sometimes we play down to the level of our opponents,” agreed Lee. “We have to keep up our intensity the whole time (against Bishop O’Dowd). We expect to win.” 

Friday’s matchup kicks off at 4 p.m. at the Dragons’ home field. This weekend, the Berkeley girls head to the annual Western States Tournament, hosted by Stanford.