The atmosphere on the field last Thursday was electric, with fans of both teams either holding their breath or cheering their hearts out as the clock counted down the final seconds. In the end, however, the second-seeded University High School ended up defeating the fourth-seeded Piedmont High School 8-7 in the NCS Girls Lacrosse Finals.

The nail biter of a game opened with a goal from Piedmont in the first three minutes, which was quickly answered by the University Red Devils. The two teams proceeded to trade goals for the next twenty minutes, with the score being tied at 3-3 with two minutes left until halftime. As the Red Devils raced down the field towards the goal, flinging the ball between the attackers, a goal seemed inevitable until a fantastic save from Piedmont goalie junior Virginia Tuan kept the game tied at the half.

The second half of the game proceeded much the same way as the first, with the fantastic defense from both sides managing to hold the attackers at bay. The two teams traded blow for blow, with both sides having six goals with six minutes to go. University scored two goals in quick succession, however, creating a lead that would turn out to be insurmountable. A goal from team captain junior Sally Abel seemed to herald a comeback for the Piedmont squad, but the defense of the Red Devils proved to be too strong.

After the game, spectator sophomore Eva Hunter spoke to the effort put in by both teams.

“I think that [Piedmont] played really amazing, but that University had a really great defense and we took too long to score,” Hunter said. “They had a really strong attack and it was hard to keep up, even though we played really well.”

Hunter also discussed the accomplishments that the team had achieved.

“I think this is a really great way for the seniors to go out. They got so far and I think they should be proud of that,” Hunter said.

Spectator Junior Ryan Padua also talked about the performance of the Piedmont squad.

“I know it’s a hard loss for us, but Piedmont played really well today, as did University,” Padua said.

Attacker senior Zepora Zangwill said that the team should be proud of what they had accomplished.

“We all worked really hard to get where we are, considering that we were facing the highest seed,” Zangwill said. “We’re all such great friends who are so close to each other.”