On Friday, May 22, the McLean girls varsity lacrosse team faced the Chantilly Chargers in the first round of regionals. Just the day before, the Highlanders had taken down Yorktown Patriots to secure the 2026 Liberty District Championship. The Highlanders were looking to continue their success in regionals.
However, to win, McLean needed to overcome the injuries of three key starters: junior forward Sarah Winston, sophomore midfielder Jordyn Nowinski and senior defenseman Joey Ferris.
“Coming off of winning districts gave us some momentum, but losing three starters due to injuries was hard. For the three injured players, we actually didn’t know that some of us wouldn’t be playing until minutes before warm ups started,” Winston said.
The Highlanders started off the game tired and lethargic, letting Chantilly right off the bat in a breakaway. McLean quickly responded with successful teamwork and ball movement—a goal by senior Elisabeth Beach and an assist by freshman Marin McManus.
The McLean defense held off a Chantilly attack for a large portion of the quarter, but McLean ultimately lost the ball on the counter and Chantilly capitalized, progressing the score to 1-2. McLean countered quickly with freshman attacker Logan Bennett, evening out the score at 2-2 right before the first quarter ended.
The battle continued in the second quarter: Chantilly quickly scored to start the quarter, but sophomore attacker Frankie Wheeler balanced the score once again. The Highlanders quickly gained momentum to reach 4-3 after a goal by Beach.
The match slowed down as the Highlanders went into halftime with a score of 5-5 with both goalies making saves to keep their team in the game.
“The game plan was to have the defense play tight on their attack and not let them get close in order to stop the ball. For attack, it was crucial that we protected the ball, maintained possession and didn’t allow for a turn over,” senior attacker Hannah Kaplan said.
As the third quarter started, both teams started off strong, going back and forth with goals. After a valiant effort by McManus, Mclean achieved the lead, making the score 8-7. However, the persistent Chantilly offense tied it back up to end the quarter.
The Highlanders started the fourth quarter, quickly falling into a deficit after the Chargers to make the score 9-12 with just eight minutes left in the game.
The Highlanders tried to beat the clock, with junior midfielder Alex Williamson bringing the score up slightly to 10-12. And a goal by Junior Attacker Eva Braccia bridged that gap even closer to 11-12. However, the Chargers immediately tightened the pressure as the block ticked down. After a hard struggle, The Highlanders’ season ended in a shocking loss to Chantilly, after a tremendously fought game and outstanding season.
“We battled till the very end” Beach said. “I can’t wait to see what the team achieves next year.”
