Despite 17 fouls called against the Sandpoint girls’ lacrosse team, it still managed to notch an 11-3 victory against the Mead Big Cats on Wednesday night.

“I was really proud of our players for displaying good sportsmanship during a difficult game.” Sandpoint girls lacrosse coach Nancy Dooley. “We played for at least 9 minutes in the second half with one or two players down since we were plagued with so many penalties.”

The Bulldogs wasted little time pulling ahead, taking a 7-1 lead into the locker room.

Alexis Downs and Mia Przybylski paced Sandpoint with four goals apiece.

The Bulldogs effective offense was brought on by an even better defense. Sandpoint held Mead’s attack to just three goals. Two of which occurred in the second half when the Bulldogs were two players down.

“Our defense once again was the unsung heroes of the game.” Sandpoint Lacrosse coach Bill Aitken. “We held their top scorer, who has netted 26 goals this season, to just a single goal.”

Dooley highlighted outstanding defensive performances from Bella Baker, Kennedy Phillips, Evan Sloan, Laura Boge and Sara Casey.

“The defense is the backbone of our team,” Dooley said. “They are working like a well-oiled machine to stop our opponents’ fast breaks and they are super effective at causing turnovers.”

This win improves the Bulldogs record to 8-3 on the season and its last league game of the year will be today at Memorial Field at 5:30 p.m. The Bulldogs final two non-league games will be at the Lax on the Lake tournament this weekend.

The Sandpoint Girls High School Lacrosse team plays at 5 p.m. on Saturday at War Memorial Field followed by the Sandpoint Boys High School Lacrosse team at 6:30. Admission is free and concessions will be available.