By Rubin E. Grant
Mary Nelson Litty and her Vestavia Hills High School varsity teammates felt the sting of an upset loss in the 2021 Alabama Lacrosse playoffs.
The Rebels were the No. 1 seed entering the playoffs but lost 11-10 to arch-rival Mountain Brook in the semifinals. The Spartans went on to capture the state championship.
“Last year was not any fun for sure,” Litty said. “We all were sad by the way the season ended and we were disappointed with the way we played. We didn’t have our best game. That has given us extra motivation this season.”
The inspired Rebels have been dominant this spring, posting a 17-2 record, including 12-0 in the Freelance Region of the Greater Birmingham Youth Lacrosse Association. Their only losses came in late February against two Tennessee schools, 12-11 to Briarcrest Christian and 15-3 to Hutchison from Memphis.
Vestavia Hills again is the top seed in the state playoffs and carried a 12-game winning streak into their quarterfinal game Monday night. The semifinals are set for Wednesday and the Alabama Lacrosse Championships are set for Saturday at Hoover’s Buccaneer Stadium. The girls championship game will be played at 2:30 p.m. and the boys at 6 p.m.
“We’ve had the best season so far,” said Litty, a senior attacker. “We’ve got 10 seniors and all of us have been working really hard. “We really want to win the state championship.”
Litty is one of three captains on the team. The others are senior attacker Lydia Dabbs and junior midfielder Alex Rountree.
The other seniors are attackers Anna Caroline Mormon, Caroline Britain and Mallory Pugh; midfielders Katy Lambert and Ella Schneider; defenders Blakely Berryhill and Catherine Whitcomb; and goalie Veronica Turner.
“I love this team,” Vestavia Hills coach Dennis Lipford said. “We’ve got a good group of girls who like being around each other and have a lot of fun playing together.”
Vestavia Hills won consecutive state titles in 2018 and 2019, but the playoffs were canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, the Rebels are eager to wipe away the disappointment of last year’s semifinal loss to Mountain Brook.
The Rebels and Spartans clashed two weeks ago with Vestavia Hills pulling out a 10-9 victory. Litty scored the winning goal in the final minute.
“She is our No. 1 player and she’s really stepped up her game and embraced her role as a leader,” Lipford said. “She’s our point guard, our leading scorer and our leader in assists. Mountain Brook face guarded her everywhere and she still scored three of our 10 goals.”
Litty said the victory against Mountain Brook was much-needed for the Rebels’ confidence.
“Beating Mountain Brook was important because of the way last season ended,” Litty said.
Scoring the winning goal has been a part of her “leave it all on the field” mentality throughout the season.
“I think this season for me personally has gone well,” said Litty, who has been playing lacrosse since the fifth grade. “We, the seniors, have all been blessed and honored to play together for a long time and we’re playing our hardest. Here at the end of the season everything has been clicking and it’s been fun.”
Vestavia Hills and Mountain Brook might meet again for the championship on Saturday. The Spartans are the No. 2 seed.
“We’re clearly the top two teams,” Lipford said, “so it could be us and Mountain Brook in the finals.”