The Grady girls lacrosse team remained undefeated 2-0

on Saturday after a physical game against the first-year team from Martin Luther King High School.

Grady dominated the first half, taking a 13-0 lead into the halftime break. Sophomore midfielder, Lindsey Van Beck, was seemingly unstoppable every time she raced down the field. Van Beck scored four of her six points in the first half, to lead all Grady scorers for the game. Sophomores midfielder Deya Bowers and attacker Salome Kakalashi also paced the Grady offense, combining to score the other nine Grady points in the first half.

MLK only had three shots on goal in the first half. They made one shot, but a penalty was called due to a crease violation (stepping into the goal box) so the point did not count. MLK had another close shot, but defensive winger, Tenciah Dixon snatched the ball out of the air and passed to Van Beck, who scored the last goal of the half.

Because of MLK’s lack of experience, there were many fouls called during the game.  There are many rules prohibiting contact in girls lacrosse in contrast to boys lacrosse, and Grady players said it is very difficult for players new to the sport to learn the proper ways to steal the ball without being too physical.

“Its understandable that they would foul so much,” sophomore attacker Koya Siebe said.

At the start of the second half, Grady put in many substitutes.

“Since we had so much cushion, or so many points, we were able to practice plays and put a whole lot of players in new positions,” Bowers said. “It was a great opportunity to try new stuff.”

Because of Grady’s influx of new players, fewer points were scored in the second half.  Sophomores Lindsey Van Beck and Deya Bowers still managed to score a few points each.  The last point of the game was scored by senior attacker Jordan Ross, the only point not scored by a sophomore.

MLK finally scored one point during the middle of the second half, angering the Grady bench, who had been hoping to preserve the shutout.  Despite the absence of experienced players on the field, Grady kept its lead and won the game 18-1.