Sara Mazzone smacked in the first hat trick of her varsity career, all in the second half, as Lakeland fought off visiting Maury Tuesday afternoon.

The first half was almost a virtual dead heat, with Maury racking up six shots to Lakeland’s seven.

&uot;It was nerves, mostly,&uot; said Lakeland goalkeeper Kelsey Cutchins. &uot;We were so close to scoring. I was saying, ‘Oh my gosh, just put it in!’&uot;

Mazzone did so with 16:34 to play in the contest, taking an assist from Kaity Byrum to give the Lady Cavaliers a 1-0 lead.

&uot;I knew they were going to come out strong after that,&uot; Cutchins said. &uot;After you score, they’re going to want revenge.&uot;

Mazzone was ready.

&uot;I was anxious to put it in the goal,&uot; she said. &uot;I really wanted this game. I was excited because I scored, and then it was like adrenalin for the rest of the game.&uot;

The feeling carried over to her next goal three minutes later. After the Lady Cavaliers fought off a pair of corner strokes, they got one of their own with about 4:30 to play.

Lindsey Cutchins got the ball at the center of the circle, and tipped it out to Byrum on the right side. Byrum crossed the ball over to Erica Rimasse, who took a swing at the ball and missed. On her second try, she tipped the ball up to Mazzone, who slammed the ball into the net.

&uot;I saw that it was going toward the goal,&uot; she said, &uot;so I just stuck my stick out there and aimed for the corner.&uot;

Lakeland will go to Deep Creek on Tuesday. Their city-mates head away for battle today, as Nansemond River travels to Hickory and King’s Fork goes to Oscar Smith.

Over at Deep Creek, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy won, 2-0, with Olivia White and Brit Williams scoring for the Lady Saints.

jason.norman@suffolknewsherald.com