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The Berkeley High girls lacrosse team finally got the mixture of offense and defense it’s been searching for all year in Wednesday’s first-round playoff matchup with Monte Vista. But even the Yellowjackets’ best game against their league nemeses in three meetings wasn’t enough, as Monte Vista advanced to the second round with an 8-5 win.  

“We felt like we played them well. That’s something we emphasized before the game: playing proud, and they did,” BHS coach Lia Farley said after the game. “Our defense was playing spectacular. But they were beating us to a lot of ground balls, getting second chances.”  

Thanks to a stellar first half by goalkeeper Joanna Hoch, the ’Jackets went into the break trailing by just a goal, at 2-1. Though both offenses began to pick up in the second stanza, Berkeley managed to keep the game within one, until Monte Vista’s Noami Hites rifled in a goal at the two-minute mark to extend the advantage to 7-5. The Mustangs would score once more in the closing minutes to seal the playoff victory – their first in three years. 

“(The Mustangs are) definitely the best they’ve ever been, they’ve cleaned up a lot of their play,” said Farley, whose squad had defeated Monte Vista in the first round of the playoffs the past two years before Wednesday’s setback. “They don’t have great stick skills, they’re just really aggressive.” 

Hoch’s 15 saves highlighted the solid defensive outing, while junior attacker Jamie Lee led the BHS offense with three goals. Alana Perley and Dani Ganes also chimed in with a score apiece. Lee and Ganes were both named to the league all-star team, along with Yellowjacket standouts Naomi Coffman, Catherine Etzel and Rory Satrin. 

“It was pretty much a one-point game the whole way, until the very end,” Farley said. “Our defensive effort was the biggest factor in this game - holding them to two points in the first half was huge. Lots of people stepped up today.” 

Berkeley’s quintet of all-stars are scheduled to compete in one final game this Saturday. Though BHS hopes to host the annual All-star game, the event’s official time and location are yet to be announced.