LS Girls Lacrosse Improves Record With Strong Week

The LS girls lacrosse team had one win and one tie last week to run their season record to 9-2-1.

The highlight of the week was an eagerly anticipated re-match against Westford Academy on Wednesday. The Warriors were victorious against the Grey Ghosts earlier in the season but Westford was coming into this game having recently beaten the undefeated and defending state champions Notre Dame Academy of Hingham.  LS and WA are two of the top teams in the state and this game would be hard fought which resulted in a 5-5 tie.  The opening minutes of the game was plagued by turnovers by both teams as there were a few unforced dropped balls.  Both goalies in this game were outstanding and at the very top of their games.  LS senior goalie Megan Mullin made five saves and kept her team in the game.  The LS offense had a total of 17 shots but could manage only 5 goals.  Much of this was due to the great play by the WA goalkeeper but also the inability of LS to execute on their shots.  As Coach Bowen Holden observed; “Our shooting needs to improve under pressure but I am confident that it will”. 

The LS defense was outstanding.  From the beginning draw to the final second, LS defenders attacked the WA offense.  They did not wait for the play to come to them, they sought out the play and anticipated WA’s moves.  The defense of seniors Lauren Proctor and Caitlin Hullinger and sophomores Katherine Yenke and Katie DeFreitas was fearless.  They were constantly jumping into passing lanes to make steals and aggressively double teaming WA ball carriers. They did a great job keeping WA away from Mullin’s goal.  They were assisted by the midfielders who never stopped hustling at both ends of the field.

            LS opened the scoring.  Senior Elizabeth Krumsiek beat a double team to get the Warriors on the scoreboard.  After a couple of Mullin saves and a great midfield steal by Proctor, sophomore Clara Bisson scored off a 8 meter free position.  Westford called a timeout to regroup but freshman Courtney Quirk won the draw after the Bisson goal.  Senior Ali Joseph scored next on a nice pass from Krumsiek as she cut to the net.  The Grey Ghosts turned up the pace as they scored two goals to cut the LS lead to 3-2.  WA was threatening again but Hullinger made a great steal to close out the half.

            The first 10 minutes of the second half were scoreless as the goalies traded saves and both defenses forced turnovers.  Senior Eliza Guild scored on a 8 meter free shot but Westford answered 13 seconds later.  Guild would score again a few minutes later on the prettiest play of the game.  Ali Joseph had the ball about 16 meters from the WA goal.  Guild was about 20 meters from goal, made eye contact with Joseph and took off full speed towards the goal.  Joseph hit her with a pass in stride and Guild made a great catch and shoot to move LS ahead 5-3.  WA came back again by aggressively forcing LS turnovers and they ended up scoring the tieing goal with 40 seconds left in the game.  Coach Holden was impressed with the job the defense turned in; “Our defense did a tremendous job and the hustle from everyone was impressive.”

            LS finished the week with a 18-4 win over Waltham High on Thursday.  LS controlled the game from start to finish but the game lacked the intensity of the Westford game the night before.  One of the highlights of the game was the LS domination on draw control.  The Warriors have been working on this phase of their game.  Quirk led the way with 8 draws controlled and sophomore Emily Gormand had 4.  There were multiple goal scorers as Guild (4), Krumsiek (4), seniors Meg Cahill and Whitney Hartstone had 3 each.  Sophomore Katherine Malone scored her first goal of the season after being out with an injury since the beginning of the season. Single goals were also added by Bisson, Gorman and senior Emma Palumbo.

            Coach Holden is pleased with the progress of her girls to this point.  “It is great to see where this team is heading and the strides being made.  We are looking forward to our final two weeks of the regular season, taking it one game and one moment at a time.

Courtesy Bob Palumbo