For more than a week the Monticello girls lacrosse team had a chance to stew over the opportunity. A win in the Jefferson District semifinals would secure a spot in the Region II tournament, unchartered territory for the program. When the Mustangs came out, they were aggressive, quick on their feet and absolutely relentless as they jumped out to a 10-goal lead in the first half before going on to beat Rockbridge County 20-6.
“They’ve had fire under their feet and have been ready to go,” said Monticello coach Karen Hackett. “They really wanted to come out here and do the things we’d been working on and execute.”
Whether it was Brianna Slate, Ari Slate, Jessie Valentic, Brittany Haun or Anna Bagley, the Mustangs had little trouble finishing in front of the net as all five players notched a hat trick.
Early on, Monticello made the most of their speed as they turned fast breaks into easy goals. However, as the contest progressed the Wildcats were able to force the Mustangs into their set offense. The results weren’t any different.
“We like to make sure we emphasize hustle and giving everything you have,” said Brianna Slate. “We just really hustled after it. We also have some really fast people and that helps.”
With her team up comfortably, Bagley more than put the game out of reach at the end of the first half when she scored three goals in a six minute stretch.
“I just got this energy and was ready to go,” Bagley said. “It just happened.”
While Monticello is assured of a Region II bid now, they still have one more JD contest – the tournament title game against Western Albemarle. The Warriors took it to the Mustangs in the teams’ only meeting this season, but Slate and her teammates are excited about a rematch with the regular season champs, especially if they can take the field with the same energy they did Tuesday.
“Our attack, we just didn’t know how to move it around last time against them,” Bagley said. “I think we proved that we could do that tonight and now we’re ready to go out and do it again.”
In addition to the five 3-goal games from the two Slates, Valentic , Haun and Bagley, Lisa Marhsall and Caroline McDonald each scored twice.
Monticello (12-4) hosts Western on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
