Girls Lacrosse: Amador Valley Moves on to NCS Championship

It wasn't the first time on Wednesday that Kristen Dumanski had been knocked down by a Carondelet stick.  After taking one particularly brutal hit, however, the Amador Valley sophomore was slow to get up.

With her team down 10-9 in the second half, Dumanski rose to her feet and gathered her composure.  When the whistle blew, she found Erin McGillivray along the near sideline.  McGillivray ran it down and passed to Jessica Daut for the game-tying goal.

Daut's goal seemed to reinvigorate an Amador team that had just given up four-straight goals, and the Dons went on to defeat their East Bay Athletic League foe and No. 3 seed Carondelet 13-11.

Second-seeded Amador (17-5) will face an even bigger rival — top-seeded Monte Vista — in the North Coast Section Championship on Friday.

Throughout the game, Daut displayed the drive and tenacity that earned her the "Warrior" nickname.

"If you take down my player, I'm going to do whatever I can to get you back,"Daut said.  "(My teammates) are my family. We have immense heart. The more they knock us down, the more it shows."

In addition to scoring three times, Daut also tallied three assists, including the pass of the day to Amelia Major. At 2:22 in the first half, Daut spotted Major cutting in front of the goal and threaded a brilliant pass between Carondelet defenders. By the time goalie Katherine Merritt moved into position to defend it, Major's left-handed wrister had already hit the back of the net.

"These girls really wanted it, and they worked really hard," coach Beth Braun said.  "For them, it was a matter of coming this far and needing to win the game.  Their heart and soul was what carried them through."

Helen Cai also put in three goals for the Dons, kicking off scoring for both teams at 21:17.  The Dons and Cougars then traded goals until the final five minutes of the half, when Amador ripped off four consecutive goals to put them in the lead 7-4. 

With 12 seconds to go in the first, Carondelet's Hanna Cooper scored what looked to be the last goal of the half.  After Amador took the final draw control, Major ran it down and passed to McGillivray, who buried it with one second left on the clock.  It was McGillivray's third, and it put the Dons up 8-5 at the break.

Cooper put in her fifth goal to tip off the second half, part of a 5-1 Carondelet run.  It wasn't until Daut's goal tied the game 10-10 and swung the momentum back to Amador that Carondelet's rough play began to catch up with them. More Carondelet penalties gave Amador its next two goals on free shots.

Amador goalie Caroline Federighi made sure it would be enough for the victory.

"Throughout the game, my whole team was playing great," Federighi said.  "Those last minutes I was like, I need to do something; I need to step up.  So I finally took a deep breath and told myself that I could do it."

The Amador captain allowed only one goal while collecting four saves and a crucial interception in the final 17 minutes of play.

"Caroline is a rock," Braun said.  "Mentally, she's very tough."

Amador will need that mental toughness to carry over when it faces Monte Vista in the championship.

"We're going to work our butts off tomorrow in practice," Daut said.  "Monte Vista needs to be ready."

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North Coast Section semifinal

Amador Valley 13, Carondelet 11

Amador Valley (17-5) 8 5 — 13
Carondelet (17-6) 5 6 — 11

Scoring: Amador Valley — Cai 3, Daut 3,  McGillivray 3, Li 2, Dorsey, Major. Carondelet — Cooper 5, DeSimone 2, Hammergren 2, Castagnola, Hunt. 

Saves: Federighi (AV) 9, Merritt (C) 4.

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Other semifinal girls lacrosse match

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