On Apr. 8, the Patriot Pioneers girls lacrosse team was 2-3 so far on the season and needed a major bounce back after losing to John Champe 12-20 five days earlier. The Pioneers were scheduled to play the Woodbridge Vikings who were 3-5 and looking to make their first step to a .500 record. “It was really important for us to win this game. We knew Woodbridge was a team we should beat but winning and winning by a lot was really important to us” said senior midfielder Corinne Vetter.
Patriot’s varsity team was filled with new faces after losing multiple key seniors from the 2024 class such as Chloe Annibell, Savannah Farrier, and more. Annibell was an exceptionally big loss as she was the 2024 Region 6B Player of the Year as well as 1st Team All-State as Patriot’s star midfielder. Annibell committed to Campbell University to play division one lacrosse but left a major hole to be filled for the Pioneers. “Losing Chloe [Annibell] was rough but we’ve been able to grow as a team and really work together and use it as an opportunity to get better. Faith Fernandez (‘26) and Olivia Ozark (‘26) have been the main two to fill in for her offensively but they work together with the rest of the team and everyone gets a chance to shoot” said Vetter.
The Pioneers were confident and it showed early as off of the first draw, Olivia Ozark (‘26) picked off a pass and ran it all the way down the field to assist Carleigh Puhlick (‘27) for the first goal of the game. Ozark was 2nd Team All-State last year as an attackman but has swiftly transitioned between playing as a midfielder as well. The first goal was only a glimpse into how the rest of the game would go as the Pioneers went on to score five more goals in the first quarter by Cara Crumity (‘26), Faith Fernandez (‘26), Vetter, and Ozark. Four out of the five goals were scored from free position shots as the Pioneers were taking advantage of technical penalties as Patriot took a 6-0 lead.
With Ozark’s score, she reached 100 career goals over her Patriot varsity lacrosse career while being just a junior. Her presence as an offensive threat has caused a massive amount of problems for other teams and have had to formulate gameplans around stopping her.
The second quarter was no different as the Pioneers continued to pour on more goals without giving up any of their own due to defense from players such as Karson Ophof (‘26). Ophof is the main leader of their defense as she earned 2nd Team All-State honors while only being a sophomore. The Pioneers scored six more goals as they dominated on each phase of the game, forcing turnovers, winning draw controls, and scoring. The first half shutout was demoralizing for Woodbridge as they struggled to try to chip away at the massive lead Patriot created. The score was 12-0 going into halftime as a running clock was beginning to turn on.
After half, it was smooth sailing for the Pioneers as they ended up winning 19-2 with a statement win over the Vikings. The win was caused due to great ball movement and shooting from the offense, as well as shutdown defense and amazing goaltending.
Bella Gonzalez (‘28) had 12 saves on 14 shots with an 85.7% save percentage. Gonzalez is a freshman who has never played the sport before but has stepped up tremendously for the team. “She’s [Gonzalez] learning a lot about lacrosse and how to play goalie. So we have a couple girls who have played goalie such as Maddy Vasquez (‘25) give her tips on what she should be doing and it has been great for her and she’s starting to make super important saves” said Vetter.
Ozark and Fernandez also had standout performances as Ozark scored eight goals as well as having five assists while Fernandez scored five while having two assists. Fernandez also tied the team for the lead in ground balls as her, Ophof, and Crumity all had four.
The Pioneers are now 5-4 on the season and are looking to take on their district rival the Battlefield Bobcats on May 28 after losing to Freedom South-Riding 9-15. The Bobcats are now 9-1 on the season and are seen as one of the best girls lacrosse teams in Virginia and will be a tough task for the Pioneers to overcome.
