The Summit High School girls lacrosse team is playing the best it has in three seasons.

The team gained valuable skills and leaders since last season, and it is starting to rival its opponents after only recording six wins since the 2019 season.

On Friday, March 17, Summit fought against Eagle Valley High School in an all-out shootout. 

Eagle Valley may have scored a goal in the first minute of the game, but Summit followed it with a strong offensive push down the field that seemed to blindside the visiting Eagle Valley Devils.

Summit fought past Eagle Valley’s defenders, chased after loose balls and tied the game several minutes later thanks to a goal from junior Ella Rader.

The goal energized Summit for a brief moment before Eagle Valley began going on a scoring spree. Making quick work of Summit’s defense, Eagle Valley scored four unanswered goals in the span of a few minutes to bring the score to 5-1.

With Summit now reeling for goals of its own, junior Chloe Nicholds led a strong push down the field and fired a shot past the Devils’ goalie.

Nicholds and Summit’s offense continued to win face offs and loose ball scrums, which led to another Summit goal from Rader at the halfway point of the half. With a strong wave of momentum on Summit’s side of the field, the entire team worked together to cut further into the deficit before halftime.

Senior Katherine Costello fired shot after shot on net, but every one was stopped by the Eagle Valley goalie. After being stopped short of a goal for much of the latter part of the half, Rader scored her third goal of the half by using her speed to slip through the Devils’ defense.

Costello persevered in her pursuit for a goal at the end of the half and scored Summit’s fourth consecutive goal to tie the game at 5-5 heading into halftime. 

“From the start, we kind of came out knowing it was going to be a hard game and that the girls were kind of rough,” Costello said. “We just went for it. From last year it was like 21-0, and this year we were not doing that. We have to step up and not let them win.”

The game remained close in the second half, with the two league teams exchanging goals in the first few minutes. Eagle Valley pushed the score to 8-6, but Rader, Costello and the Summit offense remained hungry.

Summit had a long stand in its offensive zone before the Tigers were able to bring the game within a goal with 15 minutes remaining. It was not long before the game was tied again when Rader sent a shot over the shoulders of the Devils’ goalie.

Summit took the lead moments later when Eagle Valley scored on itself after a botched clearing pass by the Eagle Valley goalie. 

Eager to get its second win in three seasons, Summit fought hard over the final 10 minutes. Summit started to drain the clock, and the score was tied at 10-10 with four minutes remaining, which meant the game was up for the taking.

Carrying the ball from one end of the field to the other, Eagle Valley junior Sienna Rinn looked to have sealed the game, but Rader had other plans as she scored with a minute left to once again tie the game. 

The final fireworks of the game, however, came from the sticks of the Devils as Eagle Valley scored a goal with 11 seconds remaining. 

Eagle Valley got its second win of the season with a 12-11 win over Summit. 

With Summit’s loss against Steamboat Springs on Tuesday, March 14, the Tigers are now 0-2 on the season. Although the record on paper and the loss to Eagle Valley looks less than ideal to start the season, the Summit girls lacrosse team is winning at a program level.

“We are going into games thinking that this is our game,” Rader said of the team’s improved mentality on the field. “Not thinking that ‘last season we lost this game so we are going to lose again.’ Keeping the positivity that this is our game, and we are going to win.”

Not only is Summit leagues above where the team was last season, but the team is having fun while growing to become better lacrosse players. 

“Coach Carly (Sane) has taken a lot of time to teach us individually how we can all be better for one another,” Rader said. “We are all supporting one another in that journey of becoming better. No one is mad at someone for messing up.”

Summit will play again on Thursday, March 23, when it hosts Battle Mountain High School.

“Just come back from last year,” Costello said. “Show them we are a different team than last year. Show what our coach has taught us and how our team has grown.”

The game is set to begin at 4 p.m.