With the rest of Meridian High School’s spring athletics programs either on the road or off for the night on Monday, it was just the girls’ lacrosse team playing at home as they faced the Riverside Rams from Leesburg. Last year, the Mustangs traveled to Riverside and lost in a controversial finish in which they should have had a chance to tie the game on a penalty shot in the closing seconds but the clock incorrectly ran out – and this was likely on the girls’ minds on what proved to be a very chilly and windy March night.

Lila Deering got the Mustangs on the board with 7:37 remaining in the first period before Riverside evened things back up only 90 seconds later, and it was a low-scoring first quarter with only one more goal the rest of the way courtesy of Meridian’s Tilly Gale. The second frame saw a bit more action, and perhaps fittingly considering the weather, it was the Gale Force of Tilly and her sister Zoe who did most of the heavy lifting for the Mustangs, while Hannah Rosenbusch and C.C. Carmody also found the back of the net to give Meridian a 6-4 lead at the break.

The Gales then scored the next three in the second half, two from Tilly and one from Zoe, before Rosenbusch’s second tally of the night gave Meridian its biggest advantage at 10-6. The home team led 11-7 with a quarter to go after Ally Campbell got her first of the night, and the scoring continued to pick up in the fourth despite the temperature only getting colder. Thankfully for the home crowd, Riverside got no closer than within three, and the Mustangs held on for the 16-13 victory.

Tilly Gale’s four goals led the way while Carmody ended up with three, including the final Meridian tally of the night. Campbell and Rosenbusch each scored twice in addition to Zoe, the younger of the Gale girls.

The Mustangs will now go on the road to play McLean on Wednesday, before taking some extended time off until April.