Sophomore Megan Roeloffs fights her way through two Notre Dame opponents April 13, 2011. (Photo by Alexandra Yearly.)

The members of the Robbinsville girls’ lacrosse team were feeling positive as the girls warmed up for the April 13 game against Notre Dame High School. And by the end of the game, the Ravens could walk off the field feeling proud despite their 16-12 loss to the Irish.

When the competitors first set foot on the field, Notre Dame immediately took control of the game. The Irish scored four consecutive goals in the first five minutes, consistently winning the draw and running the ball down the field. A minute after Notre Dame’s scoring streak, Robbinsville junior Amanda Orlak fired a shot past the goalie and put the Ravens’ first point up on the board.

The Irish didn’t back down, scoring two more goals before Nicole Gerdes scored the second goal after a series of quick passes down the field. The Ravens took four more shots on net before senior Jaclyn Francis managed to sneak one in the goal.

The back-and-forth action continued as Notre Dame scored again, then the Ravens, then Notre Dame once more, before Challender and Gerdes each scored with under two minutes left.

The Ravens trailed 8-6 at halftime but returned with renewed energy and confidence in the second half.

Notre Dame scored first, but the Ravens answered back. Julie Challender and Orlak both scored after several Irish fouls.

Then, after winning the draw, Orlak passed to wide-open senior Emily Kolaski, whose goal tied the game just six minutes into the half.

Though they tried to keep the momentum going, a Notre Dame goal three minutes later was the first in a series of six and hiked the score back up to 15-9.

Three more goals by Nicole Yap, Nicole Gerdes and Jaclyn Francis kept the score close, but not close enough.

Despite their efforts, the Ravens couldn’t overcome the point deficit and found themselves only playing defense for the last three minutes of the game. Robbinsville’s frustration was also evident as one player, then another, was forced to leave the field after receiving a yellow card.

Robbinsville did make one final attempt to reach the opposite end of the field, but the whistle marked the end of the game before they could benefit from the rush to the goal.

Ravens head coach Jan Pittas said the girls should still be proud of their efforts on the field.

“It was a good competition for us. It was actually our best game of the season,” Pittas said. “Our girls came out and fought hard, and I thought the skill level was balanced.”

Although the scoreboard didn’t show a win for the Ravens, there were other positive accomplishments in the game.

“We proved some things on the field to ourselves,” Pittas said. “Just that we’re capable of skills and doing certain things that we haven’t had the confidence to do, and it was just a really big confidence booster for us.”

With just five seniors and their first year with a new coach, the Ravens have been concentrating on learning techniques, passing and working together as a team.

“We’re just still a young team, so we just have to develop,” Orlak said.

Senior Jaclyn Francis said as long as the team stays focused, they’ll be fine as the season progresses, but the players do need to work on making better passes, shot placement and communication.