Mepham Girls Lacrosse Loses Heartbreaker on Senior Day

The Mepham Lady Pirates lacrosse team lost to the Carey Lady Seahawks by less than a foot on senior day Thursday afternoon by a final score of 12-11. Host Mepham led the non-league contest and final game of the season by a score of 7-5 after the first half on the strength of four goals and two assists from senior Cristina Olson. The Lady Seahawks grabbed the first three goals of the second half before Mepham sophomore Katie Sherwood scored on a gorgeous assist from Olson to tie the game at 8-8. Mepham sophomore Ashley Appel used the same wrap around move two times in a nine-minute span to give the Lady Pirates their two-goal lead back. Shortly after Appel's third goal of the game, Mepham freshman Samantha Trupo was given a questionable yellow card for a stick to the head and the Lady Pirates were forced to play down one person for three minutes. The Lady Seahawks took full advantage of the situation and Daina Catanese scored three goals in three minutes to put Carey up by one. Carey added another goals to go ahead by two with 1:23 left on the clock, but Appel quickly got Mepham to within one just 11 seconds later. With less than 10 seconds on the clock, Appel drove into the middle past three Carey defenders, but her shot was deflected and went wide by less than a foot as the Lady Pirates fell just short. "We had the girls who put their effort [in] everyday come out and play their game, do what they do best," Mepham head coach Geraldine O'Brien said after the game. Score: Carey 12, Mepham 11
Records: Carey 5-2 (7-6); Mepham 1-5 (7-8)
Heroes: Despite the loss, Olson and Appel put it all on the line and gave their team the opportunity to win. The duo combined for 13 points in the final game of the season. "The combination of Cristina [Olson] and Ashley [Appel] works so well together," O'Brien said. "Cristina is such an amazing player. ... She does team first, Cristina second, every single time." Turning Point: Trupo was called for a stick to the head with 9:11 left on the clock, when in fact it was the Carey player's own stick that hit her. Quotable: "I think everybody hustled today. Everybody gave 110 percent the entire time," Olson said. "It was our last game playing together and my last time ever playing lacrosse. It's going to be really hard next year not playing with all of these girls." Bottom Line: The Lady Pirates graduate seven seniors, all of whom were major contributors this season. "I'll miss everyone of them and it's a pleasure coaching with [assistant coach] MaryBethVetro," O'Brien said. "Cristina [Olson] is one of our main players and the other six seniors, we'll never forget them," Appel added. Appel, along with a number of other youngers players like Trupo, Nicole Stackpole and Cristina Olson's younger sister Michelle Olson, leave the doors wide open for a bright future for the program. "There's still some competition next year," O'Brien said. "There's 13 sophomores, some freshman, and you never know what the eighth graders can bring up, too." Box Score Teams 1 2 F Carey 5 7 12 Mepham 7 4 11 Carey (Goals-Assists): Catanese 5-1, Dahl 2-1, Baccarella 2-0, Mayer 1-1, Mutum 1-0, Annoscia 1-0, DiMarco 0-2. Totals: 12-5. Mepham (Goals-Assists): C. Olson 4-3, Appel 4-2, Batcher 1-0, Stackpole 1-0, Sherwood 1-0. Totals: 11-5. Carey (Shots-Saves): Helmkamp 23-12. Mepham (Shots-Saves): Johnson 17-5.