Peabody Girls’ Lax Out Gunned in Tourney Opener

It seemed the best way for Peabody girls’ lacrosse to stop Lincoln-Sudbury in its MIAA Division 1 North Tournament opener on Wednesday was a little bit of lightning.

After dropping down 11-0, the No. 15 seeded Lady Tanners’ received an hour and 40-minute lightning break, only to return long enough to meet MIAA time requirements, which ended as a 15-1 loss to first round host No. 2 seed Lincoln-Sudbury.

“We are glad we got in the tournament and got to experience this game,” said Peabody coach Dennis Desroches. “They have five to seven of the best attackers around. That was an extremely talented team and we just wanted to be competitive.”

The MIAA usually requires 80 percent of the game to be played along with a 10 score margin for a rain delayed game to be official. If a game is delayed in the second half, both competing parties agree, and a team leads by a margin of 10, the game may also be considered official.

As was the case on Wednesday.

“It is tough (to prepare), because this is kind of a crazy game,” said Lincoln-Sudbury coach Deb DeJesus. “If it is the second half, a team is up by ten goals and it is called for weather delay, they do not have to go by the eighty percent rule.”

Opening with a goal from sophomore Abby Quirk, Lincoln-Sudbury went on an 11-point run that led it the break. Repeating short horizontal cuts in front of the net, the Warriors (17-2) managed to find holes in the Tanners’ defense and scored all 11 goals within 10 yards of the crease.

Receiving a pass from teammate junior Megan Griffin, freshman Whitney Hartstone finished a towards the net cut with a top corner goal to put Lincoln-Sudbury up 11-0 at 11:37 in the first half.

“When you give a team that many possessions in the beginning of the game they are going to make you pay for it,” said Desroches.

A flash of lightning at 9:28 would force a break, but the Warriors would have little trouble gaining back momentum.

Starting with an isolation goal from junior Rachel Sexton at 7:13, Lincoln-Sudbury scored another four straight in its first six minutes back on the field. Curling in front of the net, Quirk buried the ball in motion off a deep pass from Sexton to give the Warriors a 15-0 lead at 3:46.

“We talked about really spreading our attack out,” said DeJesus. “We wanted a lot of off ball movement, seeing the open player, and hitting her.”

Peabody (10-7) responded a minute later with a goal from sophomore Christine Feudo, but the score proved too little too late in what was a short game. Motioning around her defender, sophomore Christa Trombley noticed her teammate moving the same direction in front of her and hit Feudo for a score 10 yards in front of the net.

“We were trying to keep them from getting possession and when we got the ball we were trying to work our offense,” said Desroches.“We are looking at a team that is picked to win the state title so just to get on the board was nice.”

Noticing lightning immediately entering the second half, referees called the game and awarded the Warriors a 15-1 victory.

Quirk, Sexton, and Lincoln-Sudbury junior Madison Acton led the game in scoring with three goals and one assist each. Warriors’ senior Jenna Kabat had two goals and assist, while teammate Griffin had one goal and five assists.