Back from my latest foray into the Girl’s side of the game and some things stood out to me last night. The athleticism of the Girl’s game continues to grow. There seems to be a calming down of the ‘head gear’ issue.  Last year I was worried after witnessing a game where I felt some of the players were more willing to put their head down and bull towards the goal, figuring the head gear would protect them.  I did not see any of that last night.  There was a NY Times article two days ago on the issue as it spreads nationwide.  But one thing we have not followed up on that I need to get to is whether the concussion rates in Florida went down last season or not. Nothing makes the point about lacrosse being a family sport more than the number of last names I recognized because the players have older brothers I’ve covered for FLN.  I didn’t confirm it but I think between the two teams there are NINE brother-sister combos! And there are still some facets of the rules I am not up to speed on . . . and one really big head scratcher. Why is the field laid out with 40 yards of a center zone where most of the time the occupancy is two players each while seven on seven is played in the smaller space on offense and defense?  In settled situations there seems to be a really congested interior, even with the 3-second rules.  With the growth of the athletes and their athletic progress isn’t that a recipe for my physicality?  Trying to force the ball inside because the girls rule on shooting keeps the outside shot from being much of an option?  Wouldn’t the game be better served with using a similar field to the boy’s game, with the two halves and maybe using one less player?  I noticed during the offensive stretches that the two ‘middies’ on each side were basically standing together, and in a few instances, actually talking to each other. One other thing that really stood out to me last night was how many times an athletic dash to the cage from the wing or up top replaced the inside passing game.  I don’t know how representative that approach was since I don’t see many Girl’s games but that type of dodging is very difficult to stop if the ‘halo’ rule is sacrosanct.  Have we started to outgrow the current rules with the ever-increasing athleticism of the participants? Just food for thought . . .     When I told Wells I was going to this one he made a prediction that was pretty much on the spot, saying he thought STA would win by 5. Not bad. He follows the Girls more than I do. Benjamin was pretty young.  Only a couple of seniors and a number of sophs and freshmen.  STA has a number of senior starters and one very highly talented junior, featured by Wells in the Sun-Sentinel that morning.  As is so often the case a disparity in experience ends up showing on the scoreboard.  The statistics were remarkably close.  But that hid a couple of things.  Mostly shot location on the field.  Benjamin really struggled to get inside against a more coordinated STA defense, while STA took advantage of some missed communications by the younger Benjamin team. Each team shot an enormous percentage . . . STA hit the net with 18 of 21 shots while Benjamin hit 17 of 20. But the locations were quite different and that was the game to me. And based on what I saw last night, Benjamin’s most effective midfield player was Kylie Kempe as she won the faceoff battle, but that position does not allow the same fast break opportunities the Boy’s game does.  Meanwhile, STA’s three-headed attack monster of Ali Beekhuizen, Carly Steinlauf and Carley Adams managed to combine for 11 of the 15 goals.  By taking advantage of their quickness and field awareness, finding space inside.  Autumn Ryan replied with her own strong game but solving the swarming STA defense was pretty had to do.   picture from the PB Post   As you read through this summary please note I had some trouble reading Benjamin’s numbers in the booth so if something needs correcting . . . yell at Brian first . . . okay, check that, just let me know. Steinlauf opened the scoring for STA at 21:17 as she took advantage of space down the right alley and her bounce shot kicked high to the left corner.  Beekhuizen then went on a three-goal run in a little over two minutes.  The first was off a free re-start up top that Benjamin was slow to close out on, hitting the top left corner.  Her second came as she took a pass up top and cut down the middle, splitting two defenders before going top left.  The third came after a top middle pass from Madison Woodall while cutting to the middle and again hit the top left corner.  Jada preston finished the 5-goal run at 17:01 as Steinlauf found her on left GLE from the left wing and she cut in front to deposit the shot for 5-0. Benjamin got on the board at 11:20 as Riley Johnston took advantage of a turnover to go down the middle of an open field before drifting to the right alley and finishing with a low left corner shot.  STA got that one back at 9:48 as Steinlauf finished a fast break down the middle with a low left corner shot.  Benjamin rallied late in the half with three goals to make it 6-4.  Ainsely Malamala took Autumn Ryan’s up top feed on the left crease all alone at 5:59.  Then at 2:01 Christina Marad took advantage of one of STA’s few defensive lapses as Ryan found her alone in the middle and her 5 yard shot hit the low left side.  At 1:08 Marad was able to scoop up a rebound on the right side of the cage and went short side to give Benjamin further momentum.  But with only 5 seconds left in the half STA regained the initiative as Steinlauf found Beekhuizen off the restart cutting in from the left wing and she hit the low left corner to make it 7-4 at the half. At 22:38 Benjamin managed to again cut the lead to 2 as Ryan was able to split the double team up top and her shot found the top left corner.  But that was as close as Benjamin would come.  A four-goal run over 5 minutes put the lead to 11-5.  Callye Hansen took an Adams pass after the fast break drew the slide. leaving Hansen all alone on the left crease.  Adams then scored twice, the first on a restart on the right wing as she wove in from the right and the second as she took the restart in the middle, going towards the right side and hitting the top short side.  Steinlauf finished the run as she cut in from the left wing and finished to the top right corner. Benjamin cut into the lead with two goals as Ashley Turner and Ryan scored unassisted goals.  Turner cut in from the left side and her bounce shot went low left while Ryan took advantage of a bad pass behind the STA net and her restart gave her an open path to the front, where she put it away.  STA answered twice late in the half to make it 6 again as Adams dodged right from up top and found the top left corner, followed by Steinlauf and Beekhuizen teaming up with Steinlauf scoring her fifth in front. The teams traded goals in the last three minutes, with Regan Russell and Jenna Byrne, with an assist from Kempe offsetting Jessica Kelly and Woodall for the 15-9 final. Both teams gathered after the game in more of the spirit of club teammates than bitter rivals, a nice touch as Coach Burlingame addressed both squads.   STA travels to defending state champ Vero Beach on Thursday for gut check time while Benjamin travels back to Broward County today for a game with Pine Crest.   Team Statistics:   Faceoffs:  Benjamin 15-13 Shots:  STA 21-20 Shots on Goal:  STA 18-17 Turnovers:  Benjamin 18-16   Individual Statistics   STA Carly Steinlauf  5G/1A Ali Beekhuizen  3G/2A Carley Adams  3G/1A Madison Woodall  1G/1A Jada Preston, Jessica Kelly and Callye Hansen  1G each Madison Cunnigham made 8 saves for STA   Benjamin Autumn Ryan  2G/3A Christina Marad  2G Riley Johnston, Ainsely Malamala, Ashley Turner, Regan Russell and Jenna Byrne with 1G each Kylie Kempe  1A Sarah Stamp with 3 saves   Thanks to Coach Sarah Burlingame of Benjamin and Coach Samantha MacCurdy of STA for talking to me before and after the game.