In the most important game of their season yet, Susky girls lacrosse was unable to overcome York Catholic on Tuesday evening.

  The early-season matchup saw two top YAIAA teams competing for bragging rights. Despite two goals each by senior Maddie Ellis, junior Rachel Marshner and sophomore Riley Roeder, plus another by junior Gena Speights, York Catholic bested the team 10-7.

  Senior defender Rachel Miller is already looking forward to the rest of the season after Tuesday’s loss.

  “I think we went into it really pumped up, but in the end we didn’t play to our full potential. We had some moments where we played to our potential, but I think the pressure got to us a little bit, and the turnovers really killed us,” said Miller. “I think I did pretty well for it only being my second game back in nine months… [This loss] just means a lot more motivation moving forward to get as far in the postseason as we can.”

  The team spent much of the game playing defense, leading to an impressive 11 saves by senior goalie Tess Clancy.

  Clancy is proud of her performance, but sees room for improvement.

  “Initially, I was really excited and really pumped up for the game because I knew that we could do it. Coach Ellis… said that this was a game [where] we would have to climb this mountain, and we could do it, and we were the best team out there,” said Clancy. “I feel like my performance was good for it being my second [game] on varsity. I know that the coaches had told me that I did really well… I’m really happy about the way I played. I feel like I did everything I could to keep the score as low as possible.”

  The loss is a tough one for the lacrosse team, who wanted to prove their dominance early on in the season. Instead of giving up, though, the team is regrouping to prepare for their upcoming matchups. After Tuesday evening’s game and Thursday evening’s win against South Western, their record stands 2-1.

  Senior defender Michella Salvitti is ready to prove that the team can still dominate.

  “I think York Catholic is always a really good team, and it’s a good matchup,” said Salvitti. “I thought I couldn’t have given any more. I gave everything I could that day… It’s the beginning of the season and we still have a lot to work on, but it was a decent showing. I think this is one of the best teams we’ve had for girls lacrosse. We can go all the way.”

  The lacrosse team plays its next game at Urbana tonight at 5:00 p.m.