by The Westlake Demons girls’ lacrosse team hosted the Brunswick Blue Devils to kick off their 2024-2025 season. It was a thriller that went into double overtime, ultimately resulting in the Demons’ 9-8 win.
The score was 7-5 heading into the fourth quarter, with the Demons ahead. The quarter started off strong for the Blue Devils, as senior Mia DeFazio scored a goal just 26 seconds into the quarter to make the score 7-6. Senior Abigail Karim was able to come right back down and score another goal for Brunswick to make the score all knotted up at 7-7 at the 10:26 mark.
The Blue Devils were playing super aggressively and were having their way. However, senior goalie Ava Kennedy of the Demons was able to save two goals in hopes of shifting the momentum back towards her team. Brunswick was applying a lot of pressure on Kennedy, and the Blue Devils were able to score their third goal of the quarter from Ryleigh Vlcek. This put the Blue Devils up 8-7 at the 7:27 mark, and it was all Brunswick.
However, star senior Finley Carlson of the Demons was able to end her team’s drought with a goal of her own to tie the game with just two minutes remaining in the quarter. It was a very fast paced game that was back and forth the rest of the way. Junior Brooke Gelhar for the Blue Devils had a last-second shot on goal that just missed. This ended regulation, and the game was heading into overtime tied at 8-8.
Overtime started very slowly for both sides, which resulted in a quick timeout from the Demons in hopes of regrouping with just a little over two minutes to go. Kennedy was playing great for the Demons in overtime as she had a huge save with just forty seconds to go. Carlson was looking to end the game as she took one final shot as time expired, but senior goalie Addison Burns was able to save it. This ended the first overtime with the score still being 8-8.
The second overtime was all Westlake, as they had the momentum early to start. The Blue Devils had one possession, and the Demons came right back in hopes of ending the game. Carlson was able to score a goal just 41 seconds into the second overtime to ultimately win the contest for the Demons.
The Westlake Demons win their home opener to start the season 1-0 and will hope to stay in the winning column. They will be back home on Saturday where they will take on Ottawa Hills. The Brunswick Blue Devils drop to 0-2 to start their season and will look to get into the win column next Tuesday when they head to Avon Lake.
The player of the game was Finley Carlson of the Westlake Demons, as she had 4 goals and scored the game-winner.
