Petaluma best at the end against Casa

Petaluma ended on top in a thrilling teeter-totter girls lacrosse showdown Tuesday night.

Playing under the lights on Casa’s shining new turf, Petaluma’s Lady Trojans scored the game’s final two goals to pull out a 10-8 victory, avenging an earlier loss to Casa, and winning the paddle in the annual Battle for the Paddle match.

The game was last tied at 8-8 with 1:48 remaining when Nichole Costa scored for the Lady Trojans.

With less than a minute left, Kathryn Wood added an insurance goal.

Tiernan Settles led the Lady Trojan offense with five goals. Costa finished with two goals, while Whitney Royall and Grace Spaletta also had outstanding games in the Petaluma attack.

Alyssa Chavex, despite double and triple attention from Petaluma defenders, led the Lady Gauchos with three goals. Scoring also came from Jess Rue-Colman, Lexie Andrade, Marina Stiles, Kelsey Gomez-Powers and Melina Carreno.

“It is hard to say what the difference was,” noted Petaluma coach Sarah Shada. “It was just back and forth. Our girls were determined to win. We weren’t going home without the paddle.”

“This was a huge win for us and for me. As a player I was never on a team that beat Casa. To win the paddle is amazing.”

“It was a very intense game,” agreed Casa Grande coach Colleen Grout. “Both teams fought hard. They just scored the last two goals.”

She said the loss didn’t detract from the 5-3 Casa season.

“We are having a wonderful season,” she explained. “The girls are playing well.”