Atlantic Lacrosse gets past Beach twice for pair of championships

A doubleheader. Outriggers in the water. Two fighting fish hooked up. A frenzy on the boat deck. How to get them both in the cooler?

The Atlantic Lacrosse girls go from scoopers to players quicker than you can plan for fifth-grade graduation.

At Hudson Fields May 22, Atlantic Lacrosse held off Beach Lacrosse 10-9 to win the championship. It was a great game – a real game – that went down to the final possession. Parents not only yell encouragement, but also advice. Daddy says: “Go left. Just go left.” Granddaddy advises: “Don’t shoot! You’re up two. Just hold the ball.”

But the coached-up players now run on instinct, execution and athletic intelligence. And it’s not everybody-gets-a-trophy athletics. It’s more like young athletes will run over your fallen carcass to win a trophy.

The second game on the upper field saw Atlantic roar out to a 7-0 lead on Beach, but Beach came out of a funk and scored four goals, and they ran out of time to complete the comeback. Spectators were all watching the green and yellow weather front on their phones, saying, “Let’s get out of here. It’s about to break loose.”

Atlantic and Beach players move on quickly into high school programs. Cape doesn’t get them all, but enough to have won nine straight Delaware state championships.

Eastern Shore Youth Lacrosse Association fifth/sixth-grade team and seventh/eighth-grade team are mixes of both years.