Tuesday, the seniors on the Norwalk girls' lacrosse team played their final home game. It was a tough, even match against a fast and physical Fairfield-Warde team that came in with a 4-7 record, identical to the Bears'. A win would keep either team in the hunt for a state tournament berth.

The Mustangs' early lead grew to six goals before the Bears closed to 15-12 with 37 seconds on the clock, then allowed a final-seconds goal to give the visitors a 16-12 win.

"We had our opportunities," said Norwalk coach Al Mergenthaler. They got a lot of goals on us early and we were coming back the whole game. We couldn't score on enough free position shots. They were scoring on theirs, and we couldn't score on ours. That's the bottom line."

Warde opened with a free position goal early in the second minute of play. Nicole Shusdock answered with a steal at midfield and a dash to her first of seven goals for the game.

The Mustangs moved ahead and Olga Sidiropoulos tied the score at 2-2 with a free position shot into the upper right corner of the net. Then the Warde offense went into high gear, combining a swift midfield and tough checking to score seven of the next eight goals, only tri-captain Leyla Kuz-Dworzak tallying for the

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Bears.

Shusdock closed out the first-half scoring after a run through the Warde defense, closing the score to 9-4 at halftime. She would score the first two goals of the second half, her hundredth career goal closing the Bears to 9-6.

"It's kind of one of those moments," said Shusdock. "You get your 100th goal on your senior night."

Shusdock's slick moves and determination deserve much of the credit for passing a mark that she set for herself in sophomore year ; nonetheless, she credited her teammates with intangible rewards that went past the record books.

"Our team is awesome," she said. "This year we've just come together. It's amazing how we clicked. This is the best season I've ever had, the most fun I've ever had."

The night's scoring had not come to an end for Shusdock. She would add three more goals before the end of the game although Warde's defense zeroed in on her, stopping her at all costs. With 14 minutes on the clock and the score 13-6, she drew fouls on two consecutive free position shots, her third flying wide of the Warde goal.

At that point in the game, aggressive play benched two of Warde's top offensive players with double yellow cards, and the Bears finished the game two girls up.

Rachel Holmes added a goal after Shusdock's 101st, and the Mustangs led, 13-8 with 10 minutes in regulation time. Shusdock countered a Warde goal with her 102nd and then Kuz-Dworzak took over the offense.

"It was intense in the end," said Kuz-Dworzak "We all stepped it up and it was a great second half. I think the girls kind of brushed away all their nerves and came together as a team like we've been playing throughout the season. It showed our true colors."

Kus-Dworzak's true colors were feisty. From behind the goal, she assisted Shusdock, then scored herself, first with a tidy rolling backhand, then with a dash past the Mustang defense for the final Norwalk home goal of the season.

'The season has been great," concluded Mergenthaler. "The girls have been really happy. It's been great that way. We've had a lot of fun in practice and things have gone well. We have some time left and hopefully the next four games will be good."

The Bears' season continues in Westport this Saturday as they take on the Staples Wreckers at 11:00 a.m. in a rematch of their 15-13 loss last Friday.