On March 25, the McLean Highlanders took on the Chantilly Chargers for the annual Morgan’s Message girls lacrosse game. The game began with a somber mood, celebrating Morgan and the cause she stood for.

“This game meant a lot to us because it was the Morgan’s Message game,” senior defender Elisabeth Beach said. “We really wanted to win.”

The first quarter had a lot of back-and-forth action with both teams trading offensive chances. McLean started strong with two goals but the same could not be said about the defense, letting through four goals throughout the quarter. McLean’s offense would continue to be dangerous, scoring two more goals and escaping a penalty shot chance for Chantilly to end the quarter 4-4.

“Our coach was telling us to use the tie as a fresh start so that we could play good McLean lacrosse going forward,” sophomore attacker Frankie Wheeler said.

McLean’s coach had a good strategy talk with the defense during the quarter break, this proved to be worthwhile as Chantilly was held on all of their potential offense.

McLean instantly brought more intensity in the second quarter as they scored three goals in a row before a time out was called. After the timeout, McLean continued the pressure, ending the quarter off with one more goal to finish the second 8-4.

“Our midfielders gaining draw control was a big factor in turning the game around,” Wheeler said. “Our communication on defense and offensive hustle also contributed greatly.”

After the half, McLeans offense did not let up, netting four instant goals and moving the ball around with extreme finesse. The offense began to slow down slightly as some cracks began to show in the defense, with Chantilly scoring three goals of their own to make it 14-7 and finish off the quarter.

McLean’s defense had things to work on going into the last quarter and that was made clear in the huddle prior to start. McLean continued to show perfect team chemistry on the attacking front, contributing to one easy goal, but Chantilly responded with one of their own.

That one goal began to spark optimism for the Chargers, with three goals being scored after a talk by their team captain. McLean was able to regain some control of the game with two goals but not without one more goal from Chantilly. This finished off the game 19-13 and made for a great win and certainly a Morgan’s Message game to remember.

“The win gave us a lot of momentum and we are hoping to carry that into the next,” Wheeler said.” “If we keep up the communication and continue to play hard, we can start a win streak for sure.”

You can read more about Morgan’s Message here: Morgan’s Message