Westford Youth Lacrosse Game Recaps

Boys Lacrosse

U11 Boys

Westford U-11 Grey Team 12 vs Acton-Boxborough  6.  

Westford demonstrated their team skills on both offense and defense in 80 degree heat while only fielding twelve players.   The kids put their hearts and soul into every minute of the game.  Goal tending by Cole Barisano and Nathan Arsenault, who had a goal of his own, kept the perennial powerhouse AB to only six goals.   The defense was lead by some outstanding first half effort by Matt Wasylyshyn and Jack Wilson who resembled a wall the opponents couldn't break through.   Very strong play by the second half defensive team of David Robertson and Brady Bomel resulted in them controlling the front of the net and feeding perfect passes to the breaking midfielders.   The Grey's mid-fielders demonstrated many, multiple passes while in their transition offense.   The first half begin with Jake Barisano exploding for two of his five goals and four assists.  Jake Gross once again owned the mid-field and contributed three assists.  Matt Sepe, who had two assists on the day, took a feed above the goal, and streaked to the net and took a rocket of a shot which found the back of the net.  Alex OakLeaf covered the entire length of the field all day and had two assists but was also rewarded for his unselfish play as he converted passes into three of his own goals.  Kyle Doherty showed a great field sense playing attack, and owning the "X" position all day, which resulted in the start of many plays and resulted directly in an assist for the day. The game was defined by The Grey's relentless effort, and willingness to apply their individual skills of scooping, passing and catching, with their team skills of offensive and defense transition games.

U15 Boys

Westford U15 Select 7 vs Groton-Dunstable 6 

 The Westford Grey Select team got their season off to a good start with a hard-fought victory over Groton-Dunstable 7-6.  Ball possession, patience on offense and solid defense allowed Westford to methodically open up a 3-0 lead in the first quarter.  Richard Paglia (6 goals) got the scoring going with alert riding, capitalizing on an errand pass by the Groton goalie for an unassisted tally.  The Paglia-Linden tandem then kicked into high gear when Justin Linden (6 assists) found Paglia open in front of the net for 4 consecutive goals in which Paglia was not to be denied.  Despite holding a comfortable 5-1 lead at half-time, the tide turned in the 3^rd quarter as Groton-Dunstable started keying on Paglia, Linden and midfielder Alex Flanagan (1 goal).  Paglia and Flanagan each tallied in the 3^rd quarter, but Groton-Dunstable scored twice as well to keep the Westford lead at 4 (7-3).  Mental lapses, poor defensive plays and penalties on the part of Westford had them back on their heels as Groton slowly chipped away at the lead.  The defensive unit of Derek Beatty, Kyle Martin, Brandon McNabb and Ryan Delaney held up strong through several man-down situations, but nonetheless Groton closed the gap to 7-5 with just over 3 minutes to play.  1^st-year goaltender James Flory came up huge with 2 big saves late in the game to keep the margin at 2 goals.  In the waning seconds of the game, Groton was able to score once again to close the gap to 7-6, but Westford held on for the victory, running their record to 1-0 in Select league play.  Westford’s next game will take place in Medway on Friday, April 20^th.

U15 Team #1 5  vs  Acton-Boxboro 11 

The U-15 Black team suffered their first loss of the season with a 11-5 loss to Acton-Boxboro to run their record to 1-1.  Celebrating his 14^th birthday, Justin Linden (3 goals) paced Westford’s offense with 3 unassisted goals in the first quarter, allowing Westford to keep pace with AB.  Despite playing hard in the warm weather, Westford was missing 4 key players due to school vacation, and this ultimately caught up with Westford as AB slowly pulled away, outscoring Westford by 2 goals in each of the 3 remaining quarters for a 11-5 win.  Completing the scoring for Westford was Richard Paglia (2 goals) and Nick Regan (1 assist).  Matt Lavallee played well on attack, and had a few good scoring opportunities that were thwarted by nice saves on the part of the AB goalie.  Conner Huang, Zack Goldberg and Cabot Rolt all played well despite being brand new to the sport of lacrosse.  Westford will be looking to rebound in their next game against Melrose on April 22^nd.

Girls Lacrosse

U11 Girls

U11 Red vs Lexington
The Westford Girls U11 Red team hosted Lexington on opening day of the 2012 lacrosse season. Hannah Seyffret started in goal and made some dramatic saves. Goalie clears were distributed to defenders Sarah Schneller, Samantha Dougherty and Lily Quinn. The midfielders Michaela Martin and Jennifer McLaughlin transitioned the ball down the field resulting in 2 goals. Draw controls by Julie Tracanna, Grace Arsenault and Claudia Oakleaf kept ball possession for Westford. The players showed their skills with roll dodges and ground ball pickups. Kate Trotter and Meghan MacDermott led the attack displaying tenacity at getting to the goal. Second half goalie Amelia Stratemeyer gave good effort between the pipes. The next game will be Sunday when Arlington travels to Stony Brook.

U13 Girls

Westford Red vs Groton Dunstable

The Westford Red U13 girls lacrosse team played Groton Dunstable Maroon in its season opener on Sunday. It was a very close, well played game. Westford was able to contain Groton’s strong offense limiting them to a couple of goals in each half. The defensive effort was led by outstanding goalie play from Isabel Heitkamp who made 8 saves and several excellent clearing passes. Also playing great defense and making several full field clears were Erika Waterhouse, Sydney Linden and Kate Walker. A solid offensive effort with good ball control and movement was led by Cara Hackley (2 goals) and goals by Caley McKenney, Carina Stafstrom, Makena Waterhouse and Katelyn Wing. Also contributing to the offense on attack were Jessica O’Neal, Caroline Chaffiotte and Abby Wood. Playing great offense and defense were midfielders Alison Breen, Katherine Pawlak and Cassie Clark.