Hard Work Helps Send Girls' Lacrosse to the Postseason

There have been quite a few differences for the girls lacrosse team from last season to this season.

The most glaring, of course, is the complete turnaround in record – from 2-12 last year to a robust 9-6 in 2012. And, that could have been even better had the pair of double-overtime losses swung in its favor.

Another difference - and one that probably is the root of the other positive changes - is this year they started with a leg up. Instead of kicking off the first week of practice remembering how to use the stick and make a pass, the girls had already had the basics, and then some, checked off.

The winter didn’t see the Generals using their sticks as something to keep dirty clothes off their bedroom floors - they worked on their skills in the off-season. And it showed.

The hard work paid off in a 12th seed in the Div. 2 North tournament that begins on Tuesday at 3 p.m. at fifth-seeded .

“The girls came in and were ready to go,” said second-year coach Amanda Chase. “They didn’t go all winter without touching their sticks. They were constantly playing.”

It didn’t hurt that they didn’t have to go through the getting-to-know you period with a new coach. The plays, terminology and coaching style were already known.

“All we had to do is get comfortable with a few new players,” said Chase, who moved a couple girls up from junior varsity after losing only four seniors from 2011.

The off-season work showed as the Generals raced to a 4-1 record. That included victories over Div. 1 Gloucester. The team pretty much went .500 the rest of the way but had another win over a Div. 1 team, Salem, and 9-8 triumph over Manchester-Essex to finish the season, avenging an earlier-season loss to the league foe that finished with a respectable 10-6.

The Generals have a pair of outstanding scorers in junior Emily Gaucher (64 goals, 24 assists) and senior Abby Hughes (49 goals, 22 assists). The opposition with have its hands full keeping both in check.

On defense, sophomore league all-stars Marie Morency and Hannah Johnson form a strong wall in front of Morgan Kimball who stopped 80 percent of the shots she saw in goal.

Chase said she doesn’t know too much about Belmont, but said as soon as the team found out who their opponent would be they immediately went online to find out as much as possible.

They found no common opponents between the two teams, but as long as the girls abide by a coaching style Chase believes in then they should be OK.

“They are more excited than anything,” said Chase. “It’s natural to have a little nerves. I try to stress (to the team) that there is nothing to be nervous. I tell them they there are playing girls the same age. I tell them to have fun and play lacrosse.”