A strong defensive effort resulted in a much-needed win for the Ridgefield High School girls' lacrosse team Saturday afternoon as it earned a hard-fought 11-9 victory over the Lady Knights of Southington.

Ridgefield (2-3 overall, 1-3 FCIAC) never trailed in the game and was able to make key plays defensively and offensively to lock down an out-of- conference win leading into a stretch of conference games. 

 "It obviously was incredibly needed for us," Ridgefield coach Michelle Ralph said after the game. "We had to pick apart what we did not do with Greenwich and what we needed to do today. We made some key choices on offense and I think our defense played extremely well today."

A big part of the Tigers' defense was goaltender Maggie Philbin, who stopped several scoring opportunities by a surging Southington squad during a second-half push. 

"I just try to stop the ball and do whatever I can to help the team win," Philbin said after the game. 

"We just have to keep working and communicating with each other and helping each other out," she said. "It's really a team effort. I couldn't do it without my defensemen there."

Maddie Hutchings stood out on several possessions with her defense leading to quick transitions into offensive sets where the Tigers were able to capitalize on scoring chances. 

Cara Lockwood benefited from the strong defensive play and was Ridgefield's offensive standout on the day. Lockwood recorded two helpers in the second half and iced the game with a hat-trick goal with just over three minutes to play. 

"Right off the bat we were really good in transition, able to find the open player and make good passes to work it down the field," Lockwood said. "We'll be able to build off it for the future."

A goal by Lockwood  in the first half showcased something in the Tigers' attack that was a key element in their victory—goals coming after timeouts. 

"Coming out of the timeouts, again, we had to pick apart exactly what wasn't working," Ralph said. "The players knew very clearly what needed to be adjusted, and even before the coaches could make the adjustments, the kids did."

Despite standout performances by Southington's Hyla Costello and Erika Letao, who combined for eight of the Lady Knights' nine goals, Philbin and the Tigers looked sharp. They hope they can build on this victory heading into a series of tough conference games. 

"We needed to prove to ourselves that,  yes, we could do it again," Ralph said.