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Churchill junior Zoe Kabelac scores on one of her several alley-oop passes from behind the net by Sophia Ein.
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By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

Churchill's girls lacrosse team unleashed a raucous celebration when it defeated Wootton by one goal in the third game of the regular season.

After Saturday's 16-11 win in the 4A West region playoffs, however, the Bulldogs barely batted an eye.

This time top-seeded Churchill improved in every facet of the game and controlled play for much of the game. The Bulldogs scooped up the vast majority of ground balls, controlled most of the draws and had much improved defense.

“I think every game we just get more intensity, more confident," senior point Nikki Frank said. "We work better together every time. It’s another learning opportunity.”

Junior Zoe Kabelac scored a game-high seven goals, including the Bulldogs' first four of the second half when Churchill pulled away. Kabelac scored five of her goals on an alley-oop like play from behind the goal when the feeder tosses it up and Kabelac leaps and swats it into the goal in one motion.

“It’s a good one for us," Kabelac said. "It kind of always works. I like to go with that.”

Wootton, the defending 4A West region champions, led 3-1 about 10 minutes into the game. The Patriots got goals from Natasha Hanacek, Amy Eaton and Erika Burns.

Churchill rallied by scoring 7 of the next 10 goals to take an 8-6 lead going into the second half. The Bulldogs got goals from Kabelac, senior center Angela Biciocchi, junior wing Meenu Singh, sophomore Katie Ruben and senior Hannah Baron during the stretch, showing their verstility.

Churchill took control of the game in the second half, scoring eight of the half's first nine goals to take a 16-7 lead. Wootton notched the game's final four goals.

The Bulldogs still remain undefeated heading into their next game at home against Bethesda-Chevy Chase, who defeated Sherwood on Saturday.

“There’s pressure but there’s enough that it’s a good pressure," Kabelac said of being undeafeted. "We still want to win but it’s not overwhelming.”