Sister Act Spurs Mustangs Lacrosse

From Venus and Serena Williams to the DiMaggios, history provides no shortage of brothers and sisters both reaching great heights on the fields of play.

The events of the 2011 lacrosse season so far have let it be known throughout the Greater Boston League and beyond, that the Medford High girls lacrosse team boasts one of the best familial tandems around.

Olivia and Katherine Timmins have overwhelmed all comers this year, and are at the vanguard of a Mustang attack that has the team sitting at 9-1, with a third straight league title already in hand, and in prime position to make quite the clatter come the postseason.

The obvious comparison, as far as the lacrosse siblings go, would probably be with Mike, Ryan and Casey Powell, collegiate lacrosse legends at Syracuse. Opposing coaches, however, may be more comfortable equating them with baseball Hall of Famers Paul and Lloyd Waner, who were known by the nicknames “Big Poison” and “Little Poison.”

Simply put: If one of them doesn’t get you, the other one will.

“These two are quite the pair,” said Medford head coach Matt Galusi. “It makes me so happy to think that Olivia is a junior and Katherine is a sophomore.”

The pair has put opponents to the sword this season, and both look primed to end near the top of the GBL scoring charts. 

Olivia has tallied an eye-popping 45 goals and 16 assists—good enough for the top spot in GBL scoring so far, and placing her among the state leaders—while Katherine has been no slouch herself, notching 16 goals and 5 assists through Medford’s first 10 games.

“Olivia’s strengths are her stick skills and her field vision. She’s an all around lacrosse player,” said Galusi. “Olivia’s field of vision is second to none. She can pick spots and fake the goalie out. Katherine, obviously it’s her speed ... she’s just so fast and elusive. They’re both fast, and they bring intensity. Every time they step on the field, it’s game time.”

The sisters have the ability to pick each other out on the field, usually with devastating consequences for the opposition, said Galusi, who founded the Medford girls lacrosse program in 1998.

“You can tell they have that innate thing,” he said. “They just know where the other one is. They sense each other; they give the look, there’s a cut and bing, bang, boom. Goal.”

The phrase ‘Timmins to Timmins’ is something heard quite frequently around the lacrosse fields of Medford High.

“Katherine does ‘dispatch’ a lot,” said Olivia. “One middie will come out, and Katherine will run in. I’ll be behind the crease usually, and I’ll just flip it to her.”

Her sister finished the thought.

“She just knows where I’m going to be,” Katherine said.

With senior captain Mady Forcier (25 goals, 11 assists) also providing a big chunk of the offense, the Mustangs have scored 129 goals so far, while allowing just 65—a whopping goal differential of plus-64.

When talking to Galusi about how the pair came to Medford High, it’s easy to see how thrilled he is to have them on his squad. 

With a broad smile, he recounts hearing about a couple of girls transferring in from Masconomet Regional in Boxford last year.

“I remember the buzz, oh, I remember the day very clearly,” said Galusi, who also teaches physical education at MHS. “Someone tells me: ‘Hey coach, these two girls transferred in from Masco, and they play lacrosse.’ I’m like: ‘Stop pulling my leg.’

“So I had Olivia in class, and we had some (lacrosse) sticks that we were whipping around, and it was kind of like I just looked up at the sky and said: ‘Thank you Jesus.’ It was something special.”

Olivia and Katherine have played lacrosse together for three non-consecutive seasons, and also play together on the Mustangs soccer team. Both girls are avid soccer fans. This has a lot to do with what drew them towards lacrosse in the first place.

“Soccer is a lot like lacrosse, because field vision is equally important in both sports,” said Olivia. “Also, passing theory is all the same.”

Her sister agreed with that assessment.

“It’s sort of being part of a team,” Katherine said. “Everyone working together to form the passes.”

While Olivia played lacrosse her freshman year at Masco, Katherine had never played at the high school level before coming to Medford. The sophomore sensation rose rapidly through the ranks.

“I started out on the freshman team, because when you’re a freshman you’re not allowed to try out (for the varsity),” said Katherine. “I got pulled up to the JV, and after a few games, I was on the varsity.”

The results have been obvious. The pair have been instrumental as the Mustangs locked up the program’s third straight GBL title, and now look to make a run in MIAA Tournament.

The Mustangs lost to eventual Division 1 North Sectionals runner-up Lincoln-Sudbury 24-4 in the first round of the playoffs, after besting Haverhill 13-7 in preliminary play.

“It’s all about the next step for us,” said Olivia. “We want to get further in the tournament then we did last year.”