The Vashon Lacrosse Club’s high school girls team, the Vashon Valkyries, took to the field last Wednesday against Roosevelt High School. It was the first time in 15 years that a girls’ high school lacrosse team has represented Vashon.

The team worked to find its groove as Roosevelt pressured the Valkyries’ defense. The girls settled into their game, and the defense shut down the Roughrider offense with a powerful zone defense.

Sophomore goalie Anna Berti showed an impressive effort in her first game ever with 10 saves.

Freshman Genna Rauma started off the season strong with four straight goals, setting off an advantage that Roosevelt couldn’t shake and leading to a Valkyrie victory of 12-8.

On Friday the Valkyries faced off against Highline in another away game. It was apparent from the first draw that the teams were well matched with goal for goal being met by each team.

Halfway through the second half, Vashon pushed ahead with a powerful offense. The Valkyries were up, 9-7, with just three minutes left in the game but struggled to maintain possession and control of the ball and ran down the clock.

Highline’s offense drove aggressively and scored two goals in the final 2:20 of the game, tying it at 9-9.

The Valkyries play their first home game at 7 p.m. Monday, April 2, against Bellevue at Vashon High School.

— Mary Kay Rauma is the assistant coach and manager of the Vashon Valkyries.