There were no first-year jitters Saturday evening for Mead girls lacrosse in their first season as a program.

If the jitters were to come out, this would have been the game as the Class 4A No. 4 Mavericks faced off against the No. 2-ranked Golden Demons in a nonconference affair at Mead High. Coach Katie Coleman’s group had no problem stepping up to the challenge and letting the Demons know they were here to stay by way of a 10-3 demolition job.

“As a first-year program, it is hard to get the respect you feel you deserve,” Coleman said. “That is no fault to anybody because they don’t know who we are. For these girls, know how hard they work day in and day out, so to see the polls overlook them, they take that personally.”

A young and relatively inexperienced defense was no problem for Mead (6-2) as they stepped up to shut down one of the best teams in the state. Moving to neutralize the off-ball cutters was a massive part of the defensive success of the Mavericks and helped keep the Demons’ goalscorers away from the net. The 13 shots on target by the Demons were nothing compared to the Mavericks’ 25. Junior goalie Anne Booth was her usual self, stopping 10 of the 13 shots.

“Our defense, believe it or not, is pretty new,” Coleman added. “We have a freshman who plays basketball and a sophomore who is playing lacrosse for the first time this year. Obviously, we have Anne Booth in the cage, who is just absolutely insane. It helps our defense a ton to go against phenomenal offensive players like Allie Hartman, Sierra Ryan, and Lucy Connors every day in practice.”

For the Mavericks, it truly is iron sharpening iron, which was on full display against the Demons (5-1).

On the offensive side of the ball, the Mavericks dominated possession in the first half resulting in a 5-1 lead at the break. Consistently winning draws was a recipe for success, allowing Mead’s attackers to wear down the Demons’ defense. The Mavericks won 10 draws to the Demons’ 3 throughout the game, leading to several more scoring oppor- tunities.

“We like to switch up the draws so that if it is not working, we can try something else until we find something that works,” said Connors, a sophomore midfielder.

Connors notched three goals and an assist, while Hartman paced the team with three goals and three assists.

“Making the extra pass has been a focus for us in practice,” Hartman said. “We start with big drives, but always are keeping the head up to pass the ball if the double team comes. If I can’t score, I want my teammates to, and if I have two people on me and someone else is open, I know they want it and are ready to score.”

The first-year program label has not slowed this Mead squad and on Saturday, as Coleman said, it motivated them to go out and perform.

Coleman would not put a ceiling on where her team could go, but Hartman knows what she hopes to achieve.

“We want a state championship,” Hartman said. “We are working towards it.”