Players 'Shocked' By First Girl's Lax Win Since 2009

It's all about attitude for the girl's lacrosse team - theirs and the school's.

And the Marauders made a strong statement Saturday, beating North Quincy 15-3 for the team's first win since 2009.

"It's going to carry into our next game. We're going to go in confident," said junior captain Jodi Munchbach. "Last year, we would go into a game expecting to lose. And now we know we can win."

Winning her first game in a Dedham uniform, junior Haley Driscoll said the win felt unusual to her and the majority of the team.

"It was unfamilar because it had never happened before," Driscoll said.

For first-year coach Jessie Koffman, her first DHS win started her off on the right foot and boosted the team's confidence, she said.

"They got the first five goals - they were all a little shocked," Koffman said. "It's a big morale boost for these girls and they deserve it."

The Marauders returned to basics in practice - conditioning, passing and catching - and the girls have bought into the work on fundamentals.

"They have so much potential," Koffman said. "That's how we are going to build the program."

"We've taken our time learning the skills," said senior captain Sabrina Fahy, who won just her second game in four years.

Dedham will face Quincy on Saturday and play at Needham on Monday before opening up on the turf field at DHS on Wednesday against Wellesley.

For the freshmen class, they've started their DHS careers undefeated.

"The new freshmen that came up, they're doing awesome," said Munchbach. "They are just showing us so much skill that we've never had on the team before."

For the tri-captains, this season is about winning with reasonable expectations.

"We definitely are going to have a handful more wins than last year," Munchbach said.

Fahy said, "We're not trying to go undeafeated - we're just trying to build a program. We want to improve each game."

The team never had outside expectations of making the tournament or turning in a winning season, Fahy said.

"It's always been just, 'they're just the girl's lacrosse team, they're never going to make it to tournament,'" Fahy said. "So, definitely my senior year I want that attitude to change and for people to know we are out fighting every game."