Huntley‘s speed made the Red Raiders girls lacrosse team tough to stop during a historic season.

Led by sisters Leah and Mya Holmberg, the Raiders finally got over the hump this spring by winning their first sectional championship.

On Tuesday, the Red Raiders were finally stopped by an equally-speedy squad. Huntley fell to Barrington 10-6 in the Huntley Supersectional, ending the season one win shy of state.

Tuesday’s loss, however, didn’t take away from Huntley’s best season ever.

“It was just a feeling of chills with every goal scored,” said senior attacker Lauren Cardinal, who scored Tuesday and ended her career with 100-plus goals. “We work all season to play tough teams like this. This is what we live for, this is what we practice for. To get all the way through to sectionals for the first time is something I’m glad I can take with me.”

Huntley (17-7) never led against Barrington (22-2), three times tying the score. One of those times, the Raiders trailed 3-1 in the opening quarter.

Sophomore attacker Aubrie Salazar scored with 17.9 seconds left in the first quarter, and she tied the game less than a minute into the second quarter. Salazar, a two-time national kickboxing champion, finished her first varsity season with 27 goals.

“I felt really good, it was really exciting,” Salazar said of scoring the equalizer. “I’ve grown a lot this season. My coaches and teammates have all helped me. I’m just so grateful to be a part of this team.

“The best games are the hard ones, the ones where you really have to push our hardest. This was one of these games and these are the most ones fun to play.”

Barrington kept Huntley on its toes.

“They’ve got a lot of speed, which is a good thing to have,” Huntley coach Joe Domka said. “I like to say we’re one of the fastest teams out there, and we haven’t really seen a team that had that much speed this year. We kind of had to adjust to that. Emma Menke is a very good player, and their goalie (Maya Arzate) had a very good game.

“Their defense kind of ran a backer zone and we prepped for man, so they switched us up on that one. We tried to adjust, but we couldn’t adjust quick enough I guess.”

Huntley trailed 6-3 with 6:06 left in the first half but, like it did in the first quarter, rallied to tie the score. Mya Holmberg, a junior, scored with 4.6 seconds before half.

After the break, Cardinal scored off an assist from Kate Barnes, and Holmberg added her third goal of the game with 4:32 to tie the game at 6-6. Barrington responded with the next four goals to put the game out of reach.

Barrington’s Menke, a senior, led all players with five goals.

“No. 1, Emma Menke, we knew going in she was going to be great on the draw,” Cardinal said. “I think the draw matchup was something we really prepared for. Their zone defense is something we’ve struggled with in the past and we just couldn’t pull through today.”

Domka said this year’s team had a special bond.

“I think the key was just being a team. We were able to communicate on the field and have full trust in each other,” Domka said. “We have some very talented players we kind of run everything through, and it’s just a lot of practice. A lot of time spent on the field running through the basics. I think that is something every team needs to make sure is that those basics are set – and then you have a good foundation.”

Mya Holmberg, a junior, ended the year with 103 goals. Leah Holmberg, a senior, had 109.

“It was awesome,” Mya Holmberg said of playing with her older sister. “It makes me sad to think about, but she’s going to be awesome in college.”

Huntley graduates eight. Leah Holmberg will play year at Mercyhurst, Aubrie Rohrbacher at Missouri Western, Kimmy Povan at MSOE and Peyton Turk at North Central College.

“This season meant a lot to us all,” Mya Holmberg said as she walked off the field. “To have a plaque after all the hard work, it kind of describes how much effort we put into this program.”