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Against a strong opponent and under an unexpected rain, the Berkeley girls’ lacrosse team put up a valiant effort Wednesday, coming up just short in a 13-10 loss. 

Jamie Lee carried the ’Jackets (5-2 NCGLA) on her back, scoring six goals and one assist, and Elena Kriefer had two goals and two assists. Acalanes (6-1) was led by Merryl Geisse’s four goals and two assists. 

The game was played in streaks, as Acalanes would go up four or five goals, then Berkeley would answer back with a couple of goals. Down by four at halftime, the ’Jackets couldn’t get closer than three in the second half. 

The game started well for Berkeley, as Krieger scored the first goal of the game less than a minute in. But Acalanes scored the next four, using their taller players to take passes in front of the Berkeley goal for easy chances. But Lee brought her team back into the game with two rugged solo goals, bulling her way through several defenders on each one. After that impressive outburst, the Dons started double- and triple-teaming Lee each time she got the ball. 

“(Lee) has great leadership, and can often swing the game for us, to get us the goals we need,” Berkeley coach Quincy Struve said. “Usually our scoring is more diverse, but Jamie did a great job today.” 

Geisse followed Lee’s goals with her own long run, during which she fended off five ’Jackets on her way to the goal. The Dons pulled out all the stops for the next two minutes, scoring two goals in 12 seconds, and seemed happy with the 7-3 lead.  

With six minutes left in the first half, they went into a stall, holding the ball in the Berkeley end but not shooting. The ’Jackets seemed afraid to be the aggressors on defense, as they had exposed their goalie to several one-on-one situations early in the game, and the half played out with little action on the field. 

“We generally play a defense where we wait for a challenge, rather than presssuring out,” Struve said. “You run the risk of getting burned when you run at people. We tend to wait and be ready to go where they’re going.” 

Unfortunately for Berkeley, the Dons came out firing to start the second half. They needed just 40 seconds to score their first goal of the half, and followed up four minutes later with another. But Krieger reeled off two quick assists, one to Elizabeth Howe and one to Lee. Lee then scored another goal on a strong solo run, and the ’Jackets were back within three. 

Once again, the Dons headed off a Berkeley comeback before it could really pick up steam. Taking less than 30 seconds to get back a four-goal lead, they quickly extended their lead to five on a fast break. Berkeley’s Kate Walstead found Krieger open for a goal to get back within four, then Lee and Geisse started trading goals. Lee broke triple coverage to score, but Geisse sliced through the Berkeley defense for an answer. Lee again waded through the Acalanes triple-team for a goal, but Geisse recovered a loose ball and fired her final goal into the Berkeley net with four minutes left to make the score 13-9. Although Lee found Sonja Graves for a goal seconds later, the ’Jackets couldn’t keep possession long enough to get any more good shots, and the Dons’ swarming defense finally stopped Lee, as she had two shots deflected before they got to the Acalanes goalie.