The Salem High lacrosse teams will take on Patrick Henry tonight in a doubleheader at Spartan Field. The girls will open the doubleheader at 5:30 pm with the boys to follow.
The girls will be trying to snap a rare two game losing streak. The Spartans lost back-to-back games to Albemarle and Hidden Valley last week, both by one goal.
At Albemarle the girls dropped an 8-7 decision. Salem trailed 3-0 early but battled back to tie the game at 4-4 by halftime. The Spartans fell behind by a goal with three minutes later and had one hit the pipe with 50 seconds left that would have tied the game.
“Albemarle was very fast and we had a couple of our top players out,” said Salem coach Maggi Pace. “Being a 5A school, though, it was a good challenge for us.”
Lilly Blair and Kara Yates had two goals each while Arie Newman, Abbey Greer and Madi Caldwell each had one goal. Katrina Morrow had one assist and Maggie Crute led the team in ground balls on defense.
On Monday Salem lost to Hidden Valley in the rain, 7-6. Salem had a dozen turnovers and had trouble avoiding doubles and triples both on the settled attack and through transition.
“Our shots seemed to hit the goalie or not change levels,” said Pace.
Blair again led the scoring with four goals and Greer had one goal and one assist. Morrow had a goal and Caldwell had 2 assists. Maddie Bowman recorded nine saves.
The boys lost to Albemarle 6-5 last week despite missing several starters. Zach Mason had three goals and an assist, Peyton Woodward played a strong game in goal and Wyatt Whitlow did a good job facing off.
“It was a hard fought game that did not turn out the way we wanted it to,” said Salem coach Daniel Dyer. “We gave great effort on both sides of the ball but could not score at times when we needed. The defense played a stellar game for four quarters.”
Salem bounced back with a 14-5 win on Monday against Hidden Valley. Evan McMillan had four goals and an assist and Michael Rock had three goals.
“It was a sloppy game but we were fortunate enough to come out on top,” said Dyer. “We did a lot of good things and are continuing to make strides as the season progresses. A lot of players have stepped up these last couple of games that will be beneficial throughout the season.”
On Monday the Spartans are at William Fleming.
