Lane’s Girls Lacrosse has played in lots of bad conditions this year. From rain to frigid conditions, it seems like the weather has been one of Lane’s main opponents this year. 

But, as the Chicago Public League (CPL) playoffs began, Lane got a rarity this season — blue skies and warm temperatures. Lane took the beautiful weather and ran with it, defeating Northside handily 15-2 to advance to the city semifinals.

“I really think it was the weather. The weather we always [play] in is pretty bad weather, so the fact that we got a nice sunny day and we were all warmed up [helped],” Daulath Khan said postgame. 

Lane entered the quarterfinal matchup with a lot of confidence due to a big 17-12 non-conference win against Montini on Friday, May 6.

“We didn’t think we would perform as well as we did against Montini,” Khan said. “We want to play this game and really show them what we got.”

Northside entered the game looking for redemption, as they tried to avenge a 15-4 loss to Lane on April 28 during Lane’s senior night celebration. 

Gallery • 5 Photos

Allegra Coleman

Lane’s Kate McNamara races against a Northside player to get the ball.

As the first half began, Lane’s offense started off strong with Kendra O’Keefe winning the first draw and scoring a penalty shot, bringing Lane an early 1-0 lead. 

This was only the beginning of a strong performance for Lane, whose defense added pressure, allowing O’Keefe to run the ball across the field and score another goal, breaking through Northside’s defense at the goal to bring the score to 3-0. 

While Northside’s defense was breakable, Lane’s wasn’t. Defender Maddy Meyer blocked Northside during an attempt to score and stole the ball, running it all the way down and assisting a goal made by Eliza McHale, increasing Lane’s lead to 5-0. 

This momentum was consistent throughout the game, but there were some hiccups offensively, according to Lane’s Head Coach Amanda Malstrom. 

“We were still not truly accurate on our shots, particularly in the first half,” Malstrom said postgame. “So we’ll need to work on that.” Northside shook up Lane’s defense once and scored, but it wasn’t enough to scare Lane. Khan responded with a penalty shot to bring the score up to 6-1. 

However, before the end of the first half, Lane did struggle to score as pressure was consistently added between both teams, making it difficult for either to score. This was a result of the fast-paced offense and excitement that come with the city playoffs, according to Malstrom. 

“I think there’s a lot of adrenaline and excitement when it’s associated with the city playoffs,” Malstrom said. “I think they go out there and are just a little too hyped, and their shot goes a little higher, a little off to the side or it’s the goalie.” 

As the first half came to a close, Captain Kayla Jones battled it out with an attack player on Northside and attempted to block a shot, but the Mustangs were able to get it past her, scoring to make it a 10-2 halftime deficit for Northside. Entering the second half, Northside’s offense and defense completely crumbled as they couldn’t score or save another goal, allowing Lane to score five more goals and giving Lane a 15-2 victory.

Lane now advances into the semifinals, Wednesday, May 11, where they will face off at 5 p.m. against the Jones Eagles at Lane Stadium. 

Despite the successful quarterfinal victory, there are still skills the team wants to focus on as they advance through the playoffs. 

“We really need to focus on working with our team, building our chemistry and also getting some plays in,” Khan said. “We’ve been doing draws and dumps, we’ve been doing pick and rolls, the basics, but if we incorporate things like real plays, give them names and have all that, our team will be so solid.”