Spring Break Dominance

By Aaron Skomial

Varsity

After two weeks of no activity due to conflicting spring breaks with other communities, the women’s lacrosse team came out rusty.  They looked slower and passing and catching was a little sketchy. Would it get better?  You bet it did.  While the skills looked rusty, the defense was amazing right out of the gate.

In lacrosse, when a team can shut out another team for 40 minutes out of a 50 minute game, it’s really impressive no matter who the opponent is. The team hustled. They ran girls down in transition and stopped any momentum that Grand Blanc thought they had.  If they were near the critical scoring area, the defense shut the door and repelled any impending action. Tabitha Ferguson, the Hartland goalie turned away all shots except for a sneaky short sided shot that squeezed between her and the goal post.

While the stick skills looked a little rusty, the rust was only temporary.  At half time, Hartland led 11-0. At the end of the game, the scoreboard read 17-1.  Leading the offensive juggernaut on the night was Ryan Skomial with six goals and three assists. Haley Crouse and Courtney Lee added three goals a-piece.  Natalie Sochaki contributed with two goals and four assists. Rachel Gibbs had a pair of goals and Ashley Collins rounded out the score with a single goal.

Their next game will be against rival Brighton on Friday at 7pm. This rivalry reached a whole new level last year. Hartland lost a heartbreaker in a sudden death playoff loss to Brighton on their way to winning a state championship. The disappointment fuels the fire for Hartland’s season.

Friday night’s contest will hopefully springboard the season onto greatness.

Junior Varsity

The Hartland JV squad went out and got another win last night.  They beat Grand Blanc 20-5.  They led 11-3 at half-time.  Kristina Hollis led all scorers with eight goals and two assists.  Adrian Martino had a goal and three assists.  Amy Longe dominated the ground ball stat with six.  The JV squad lost one game last year, their second meeting with Brighton.  This will be the first time that they get a chance to avenge that loss. Their next game is at 5:30pm Friday night against Brighton at home.