Westford Youth Lacrosse Game Recaps From 4/20, 4/21 and 4/22

Boys Lacrosse

U11 Boys

U11 Maroon Westford 7 vs. Melrose 6

The U11 Maroon team played Melrose at Trustees Field at Westford Academy on Sunday.  Midfielders John Alfano, Lucas Laroche and Ryan Crann began the game with strong offensive passing that allowed them each to score goals.  Ryan Reid, Harry Laushine and Nick Green presented a solid defensive force at the other end of the field.  Dylan Breen stepped up as goalie and stopped shots on goal throughout the game.  The game was 3-2 at halftime and the kids fought hard to maintain their lead in the second half.  Opening the 3 quarter, Lucas Laroche caught another great pass and quickly scored again. John Alfano contributed with 2 more goals. Melrose was not going to give up without a fight and they maintained a fast pace as they fought their way back to a 6-6 tie.  Brian Ellis, Anthony Pappalardo, Nolan Ratte and Thomas Kennedy contributed to our offensive force by keeping pressure on the opponant and making great shots on goal.  Carson DuMont and Jack Healy worked tenaciously to apply their new skills and presented a challenge for our opponant. With only 30 seconds remaining in the game, the offensive team fed the perfect pass to Ryan Reid who caught the ball in the "X" position and wrapped around to the front of the net to shoot a bullet over the shoulder of the Melrose goalie.   With great teamwork and new skills, the U11 Maroon team earned this 7-6 win as a strong team!  Our next game will be Sunday April 29 at 1:30 p.m. at Stony Brook. 

U-11 Grey 10 vs Reading 8

Westford met it's toughest competition during a rain soaked match at the Stoney Brook fields but Goalies Cole Barisano and Alex Oalkleaf kept the Reading squad at bay under a flurry of shots throughout the game.  Westford showed great patience, hustle, and passing all match.  The Grey jumped to a quick two goal lead as Jake Gross continued his unselfish play by assisting Matt Sepe on his first of three goals, and two assists.  Nathan Arsenault followed the trend with a sharp pass to Jake Barisano, who fired the ball into the bottom corner of the net.  The team really demonstrated their awareness of the value of passing throughout the game.  Brady Bomel was next to get on the board as he took a quick pass, faked a defender and rifled the shot that flew by the goalies feet.   Steve Donovan got in on the assist parade as he muscled his way to a ball behind the net and with great field vision, passed to a streaking Jake Barisano, who fired it into the net for his second of three goals that were in addition to his one assist and ownership of the mid-field all game.  The next goal came from Alec Morgan who demonstrated great defensive checking which resulted in a stolen ball which he ripped into the back of the net for the first of his two goals.  The defense was one of the main reasons for the win and was made up of Matt Accabo, Peter Beck, Matt Wasylyshyn, Jack Willson, and David Robertson.  It was a well rounded team effort.

 

U15 Boys

Westford Black 10 vs Melrose 12

 The U-15 Black team suffered their 2^nd defeat of the season with a tightly-contested 12-10 loss to Melrose to run their record to 1-2.  Westford got out to an early lead as Attackmen Richard Paglia (5 goals, 1 assist) and Justin Linden (3 goals, 2 assists) worked well together to confuse the Melrose defense to close out the 1^st quarter with a 5-3 lead.   Melrose chipped away at the lead to close the gap to 1 goal by halftime, but it was the 3^rd quarter where Melrose outscored Westford 3-0 to take the lead for good.  Westford got many good scoring opportunities, but was unable to capitalize due to missed shots or good goaltending on the part of the Melrose goalie.  Daniel Koerner played well at Midfield with solid defense and taking charge to spark the offense with 1 goal and 1 assist.  Other scorers include Jason Hughes who had 1 goal and 1 assist.  Derek Beatty, Nick Goodman and Jake Cantalupo played well again on defense.  Beatty was a force on defense, single-handedly clearing the ball and picking up virtually every ground ball as a long stick Middie on face-offs.  Matt Lavallee and Cabot Rolt moved the ball well on Attack and got some good scoring opportunities, but couldn’t quite find the back of the net.  Midfielders Nick Regan, Brian Curran, Andrew Merrell and Zach Goldberg controlled the middle of the field with excellent ground balls, good man-on-man defense and good transition play.  Westford will be looking to rebound in their next game against Chelmsford on April 29^th.

U15 Grey Select Team

Westford Grey runs record to 3-0

The Westford Grey team continues its strong play with back-to-back wins on Friday and Saturday against Medway and Beverly/Ipswich to run their record to 3-0.  With James Flory unavailable in goal for the Medway game, Justin Linden stepped in and played extremely well, holding Medway to just 1 goal on 12 shots on net.  The defensive unit of Derek Beatty, Ryan Delaney and Brandon McNabb completely shut down the Medway Attack and was instrumental in clearing the ball all game.  The offense was in high gear with scoring contribution from 8 different players including the following:  Richard Paglia (4 goals, 2 assists), Jason Hughes (3 goals, 1 assist), Kevin Enos (1 goal, 2 assists), Nik Lizine (1 goal, 1 assist).  Patrick Hesseltine and Eric McLaughlin tallied with a goal each and Mike Mulligan and Jack Cusworth each chipped in with an assist.  The final score was Westford 11, Medway 1.  Less than 24 hours later, the Grey team was back at it again against a much more formidable opponent in Beverly/Ipswich.  Westford got out to an early lead as Richard Paglia (4 goals, 1 assist) tallied for 2 quick goals on nice assists from Justin Linden (3 goals, 1 assist) and Ryan Delaney (2 assists).  Jack Cusworth played in net for the first half and made some very nice saves, allowing just 3 goals.  Westford maintained a 2-3 goal lead throughout most of the 2^nd half, but Beverly/Ipswich came back strong, tieing the game at 11-11 with just 50 seconds to play to force overtime.  Despite losing the face-off, the Westford defense came up big forcing a turnover and getting the ball in the hands of Midfielder Kevin Enos (4 goals, 1 assist) who put the team on his shoulders as he dodged through 4 defenders and took a nice lefty bounce shot to seal the victory for Westford.  Westford’s next Select game will take place against North Andover on Friday, April 27^th.

Girls Lacrosse

U11 Girls

Red v Arlington Maroon The Westford Girls U11 Red team displayed unselfish lacrosse in their game versus Arlington. Starting goalie Julia Tracanna and second half keeper Sarah Schneller each made 1 save and held the opposition off the scoreboard. Blanket defense by Nicole O’Neil (1 goal), Carley Watson (1 assist) and Alana Donovan (1 goal) stifled the visitors all game. The midfield of Jennifer McLaughlin (5 goals, 2 assists), Claudia Oakleaf (1 assist) and Grace Arsenault (2 goals) ran unbridled down the field.  Hannah Seyffert, and Elle Prendergast were able to maintain ball possession in the midfield by scooping ground balls. Accurate passers on attack were Lily Quinn (1 assist), Amelia Stratemeyer and Samantha Dougherty (2 assists). GU11 Red will continue their season hosting Lexington next Sunday.

U13 Girls

Westford Red vs Watertown Red

The Westford Red U13 girls lacrosse team played Watertown Red in its second game of the season on a cold, rainy Sunday. Westford played a very strong first half but Watertown was able to regroup and played very well in the second half. Once again an outstanding defensive effort was led by the goalie play of Isabel Heitkamp who made 7 saves along with excellent clearing passes. Also playing outstanding defense were Sofia Marchetti, Jessica O’Neil and Kayla Schladenhauffen. All the players contributed to a very balanced team offensive effort. Alison Breen, Cara Hackley and Caley McKenney each scored several times. Hannah Kruger, Erika Waterhouse and Makena Waterhouse also netted goals. Katelyn Wing and Abby Wood challenged the goalie several times with excellent shots. Playing outstanding both on offense and defense throughout the game were Sydney Linden and Cassie Clark.