By Allison Goldsmith
I&M Sports Editor
The girls lacrosse team showed steady improvement this week and reaped its rewards Tuesday night, defeating Fairhaven at home 18-6 for their first win of the season.
 |
Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Nikki Symer scores a goal for Nantucket during the Whalers’ 8-7 loss to Dartmouth Monday at home.
|
The Whalers (1-3) lost to Martha’s Vineyard 16-7 last Thursday and Dartmouth in a close 8-7 game at home Monday leading up to Tuesday’s game against the new Maritime League opponent. The win was not the best lacrosse the team played this week, but it was enough to earn the victory.
“It is exciting to have a win. I think their level of play was better yesterday (against Dartmouth) and against the Vineyard. I think they were a little tired today after yesterday’s game,” head coach Amy Knapp said. “They were able to get some goals and that gives them some confidence. We still need to work on the basics. We were dropping a lot of passes and not getting the ground balls.”
The Whalers have two games remaining this week before breaking for spring vacation. The squad is set to travel to Bridgewater-Raynham today and host Sturgis Friday. Both are winnable games for Nantucket, but with a number of players leaving on a school trip to Europe, the games pose a challenge for the remaining players.
Against Fairhaven at home Tuesday, the Whalers struggled out of the gate as they in their first three games. The Blue Devils took a quick 2-0 lead before the Whalers’ offense broke out.
Nantucket cut through the Fairhaven defense to take a 10-4 lead at the half and widened that margin even further in the second half. Sarah Andrews scored three goals and tallied two assists, while Emily Pitts, Riley Fredericks, Nikki Symer and Lia Newman scored three goals and one assist apiece. Lexi Baker, Lexi Thayer and Caroline Stanton also scored for the Whalers in the win.
The Whalers matched up against a competitive Dartmouth program Monday, but came out a little slow, falling behind 3-0 early.
“One of our biggest weaknesses and obstacles we need to overcome is the beginning of the game. We don’t have the mental game to come out onto the field and start strong. I believe every game we have had, we have started off slow and have had a time out where they need to have a wake up call and get into the game, and they seem to bounce right back,” Knapp said.
The timeout worked Monday as Baker and Andrews responded with goals to cut the deficit to 3-2. Dartmouth added one more score before the half to take the 4-2 advantage into the break.
It took a halftime speech for the Whalers’ offense to really kick into gear.
“That’s what we talked about at halftime, was that the attack needed to focus on getting the ball in the net. The defense was doing a great job of slowing it down, turning it over, and then transitioning it up, but there was no middle pass and then there was no shot when we got it down to the attack,” Knapp said.
The Whalers, who have struggled with the transition game, battled back twice to come within a goal, but could not get over the hurdle by the end of the game.
“It was a very exciting game. I was thrilled with their desire to win and their energy out on the field, to battle back and score goals. They are definitely starting to see net,” Knapp said.
Andrews scored three goals, while Winnie Maggs, Symer, Baker and Newman also tallied scores in the game. Fredericks had three assists in the second half as the Whalers attempted a comeback.
Freshmen Merrill McCluskey and Britt LeBaron-Brien saw time at defense and attack, respectively.
Against the Vineyard last Thursday, the Whalers were able to play well alongside one of the region’s top programs, using a solid defense and finding the net for some offensive production for the first time this season.
“The defense was able to slow it down a lot, and hold them off. Martha’s Vineyard is a very talented team. They have excellent stick skills and they were able to pass it quickly and get up and down the field and we were able to stick with them. I thought they did a really great job for the circumstances, coming without a goalie and not knowing what to expect,” Knapp said.
Casey Kurash filled in for Theresa Head and had eight saves in goal in her first appearance between the pipes for the Whalers this season.
The Vineyard took the 8-2 lead by halftime before the Nantucket attack found the net. Newman scored three times, while Baker, Symer, Maggs and Delly Garneau spread the scoring around.
Rachel Siegel was strong on defense, communicating with her teammates throughout the game.
|
