FRISCO, Texas — In a team sport such as lacrosse, it is not an easy task for a group of talented players to come together and work as a cohesive unit. But the North squad was just that as it was dominant in a 20-12 victory over the South team in the sixth-annual Adrenaline Lacrosse All-American girls’ game played in Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
"We were in the flow of the game," said Olivia Kozitza (Oregon), who was selected as the MVP. "We came out strong in the first period. And I thought we just worked well together as a unit."
After Alina Hsu (Cal) staked the South to an early 1-0 lead with a goal less than two minutes into the game, the North quickly answered, reeling off six straight goals to take control.
Skylar May (USC) tied the score at 1 and less than a minute later, Gabby Bjugan (Towson) tallied for a 2-1 lead, one the North never relinquished.
Leslie Iorio (Villanova) extended the lead to 3-1 with 7:46 left in the opening quarter. Kozitza notched a pair of scores within a two-minute span, and Zoe Martin (Michigan) drilled home a goal as the North took a 6-1 lead after the first quarter.
Goalie Anne Booth (Brown) held the South scoreless the rest of the period, after yielding the early Hsu score.
A Harper Jones (High Point) goal opened the second quarter scoring for the South before the North responded with four straight goals — Dakota Cristo (Penn State), Skylar May, Shae Hagans (Jacksonville), and Sarah Caulkins (Dartmouth) — to open a 10-2 North cushion with two minutes left before intermission.
Then came a scoring bonanza. South standouts Tatum Bryant (Lindenwood), Laurel Gonzalez (Johns Hopkins) and Dahlen Valbrandt (California) scored in less than 45 seconds to slice the North lead to 10-5.
The North regained its composure quickly, however, as Addison Brower (Colorado) scored with 30 seconds left, then Skylar May added her third goal of the first half with 14 ticks remaining to open a 12-5 North halftime advantage.
Valbrandt and Hsu goals to begin the third quarter narrowed the North lead to 12-7.
Again the North answered, registering four consecutive goals. Claire Murphy (Brown) and Sarah Caulkins (Dartmouth) each scored with assists from Alex May (USC) just over a minute apart, and then Martin added two goals in less than two minutes to push the North lead to 16-7 heading into the final stanza.
The South did start the final period on a 4-1 run. Ava Valdez (Denver) scored just over a minute into the quarter. Anna Kristynik (Brown) sandwiched a pair of goals around Martin's fourth goal of the game for the North, then Ella Berg (Louisville) found net to close the gap to 17-11 with 8:56 remaining.
Kozitza, whose stellar ground game was instrumental in the North victory, scored her third and final goal, to regain momentum.
"This was really a competitive game," Kozitza said. "Both teams came with a lot of energy. Just a lot of fun."
