Make It, Take It: Felago Fuels Victory at Adrenaline All-American Games

FRISCO, Texas — It takes a special performance for a draw specialist to earn most valuable player honors in a lacrosse all-star contest.

Alexis Felago (La Costa Canyon, Calif./Mount St. Mary’s) did just that as Team South held on for a 12-11 triumph over Team North in the Adrenaline All-American Lacrosse Senior Games at Ford Center's The Star this past Sunday.

Trailing 9-8 entering the final period, Felago won four consecutive draw controls — each leading to scores — in less than three minutes to begin the final stanza.

Sophie Ghosh (St. Ignatius, Calif./Penn) had bookend goals around scores from Chloe Gibbs (Oak Park, Calif./USC) and Maria Anaya (Coronado, Calif./Yale) that forged a 12-9 South advantage.  The North's Phoebe Oliven (Hillsborough, Calif./Columbia) and Sawyer Bohlig (Miramonte, Calif./Northwestern) sliced the lead to a single goal, the latter with 44 ticks remaining.

Felago then had the last of her 17 draw controls for the South, which was able to run out the clock to secure the win.

"I take a lot of pride in the draw controls," Falego said. "Possessions are crucial and our offense took advantage. It was a lot of fun."

Felago noted it was a "very competitive game" in which she enjoyed participating.

MVP honors could easily have gone to attacker Sophia Cuteno (Marlborough, Calif./Syracuse), who recorded four goals — all in the first half — and assisted on Anaya's fourth-period tally.

The two teams alternated goals in the first quarter, which ended in a 3-3 deadlock.

Bohlig and Lucy Miller (Redwood, Calif./Colgate) found the net for a 5-3 North edge in the second period.

The South rallied, scoring three times in the final 1:41 to hold a 6-5 lead at intermission. Cutena punched in back-to-back goals, and Courtney Whittaker (Houston, Texas/Denver) delivered with 4.9 seconds left to give Team South the edge.

Coming out of the break, North goals from Bohlig and Quinlin Dayton (Tamalpais, Calif./UC Davis) retook the lead.  The South answered back with goals by Jackie Jimenez (Phoenix, Ariz./San Diego State) and Whittaker.

Regan Walters (Snoqualmie, Wash./Rollins) and Samantha Hohn (Gentry, Minn./Clemson) scored with 35 and six seconds remaining, respectively, giving the North a 9-8 lead entering the final quarter, when Felago's draw control dominance led to a South victory.

Ghosh, Gibbs and Whittaker finished with two goals apiece for the South to augment Cuteno's game-high four scores. Goalie Aubrey Geibelson (Marlborough, Calif./Harvard) registered seven saves in the victory.

Bohlig recorded a team-leading three goals for the North squad, while Hohn added two more with six other players chipping in with one score apiece.

North squad's Charlotte Vandenberg (Park City, Utah/Colgate), who notched one goal and one assist in the game, won the halftime Fastest Shot Competition.

FUTURE STARS

Team North never trailed and utilized a swarming defense — allowing just one goal in the first three quarters — en route to a 13-4 victory over Team South in the second edition of the Futures competition, which features incoming freshman high school players.

Local product Olivia Lane (Southlake, Texas) earned MVP honors, scoring four goals and adding one assist, including a score as time expired in the third quarter. Lane also won the halftime Fastest Shot Competition, hitting 78 mph on the radar.

Skylar MacHamer (Boulder, Colo.) had two goals and one assist, while Grace Koon (Riverton, Utah) and Kinley Kamstra (Cherry Creek, Colo.) contributed two scores apiece.  Emily Partello (Torrey Pines, Calif.) led with seven ground balls.

South Goalie Jillian Boney (Rockwall-Heath, Texas) stopped seven shots to highlight her team's efforts in the loss.