By Dean Geddes
I&M Staff Writer
 |
Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Erin Lindsay, left, defends against Kaitlyn Ellis in drills during the Nantucket varsity girls lacrosse team practice Tuesday. |
After three consecutive one-win seasons, the girls varsity lacrosse team improved by leaps and bounds last year to finish with an 8-9-1 record, one win shy of qualifying for the state tournament. This year the girls have their sights set on taking the next step and making it to the postseason.
Their first game of the season is scheduled for Sunday, April 2 against a tough non-conference Cohasset team that got the better of the Whalers 9-4 last year.
Heather Williams will be the Whalers’ new head coach, taking over for her sister, Amy Knapp, who is on maternity leave. Williams, who coached Hingham High School’s girls lacrosse team for 16 years, said she is looking forward to coaching the Whalers and eager to take the program to the next level with the help of
assistant coaches Jen Atherton, Ashley Erisman and Kate Pelrine.
“It’s fun for me because (on Nantucket) it’s such a new sport. I’m teaching the basics and background to these girls as opposed to Hingham, where I was dealing more with strategy. It’s exciting watching them learn and grasp concepts and improve. I really enjoy coaching here,” said Williams, who has served as the Whalers assistant coach the last two years.
Nantucket will look to sophomore Miranda Dale to have another strong season in net after her outstanding performance as a freshman last year.
“She looked great in net today,” Williams said after the girls’ first full practice on Monday. “She has gotten taller and attended camps in the off-season. We’re counting on her to be our backbone again this year.”
Senior co-captain Evie O’Connor, sophomore Ainsley Ellis and senior Haley Fowler will anchor the Whaler defense and try to keep the pressure off Dale.
“We lost a lot of strong players on defense, but the new players coming in look like good candidates to fill those spots. They’re catching on quick,” O’Connor said. “But we’re always looking for more players to come and try out.”
 |
Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
Nantucket will look to sophomore Miranda Dale to have another strong season in net after her outstanding performance as a freshman last year. |
In the midfield, senior co-captain Kaitlyn Ellis will split time on both sides of the field and work on getting the ball ahead to her teammates on offense.
On attack, senior Kelley Martin and her sister junior Ashley Martin, alongside Rebecca Tyler, will look to carry the scoring load for the girls. Watch for sophomore Heather Munnelly and senior Melissa Waine, who just started playing last year and has already earned herself a starting role, to continue improving and strengthening the Whaler attack as the season progresses.
Nantucket will look to add depth to the team this year with an incoming group of underclassmen including Jen Chadwick, Lia Newman, Chelsea Bell, Emily Pitts, Briana Vittorini and Erin Lindsay.
The team has a strong core of returning players at every position, Kelley Martin said, but for the Whalers, depth is their main concern right now.
“We need to be out playing in tip-top condition since we don’t have a very deep bench,” Williams said. “Our numbers have hurt us in the past. Hopefully these girls can have an impact right away.”
Williams said that until the island has a “feeder-program” that starts girls playing competitive lacrosse at younger ages, off-island teams will always have the edge in experience and depth.
“It speaks a lot for our wins last year, to do it without a feeder program. A lot of the girls that take the field against us have been playing anywhere from six to 10 years,” she said.
The Whalers will get their first taste of intersquad action when they travel to Falmouth on Saturday to play six 30-minute scrimmages in a round-robin format.
 |
Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger
New varsity girls lacrosse coach Heather Williams. |
“We have a good schedule this year,” Kaitlyn Ellis said. “A lot of the teams we play are comparable to us. Playing more evenly-matched teams will help us improve.”
After the Cohasset game, the girls play their first home game on Tuesday, April 4 against Nauset.
Reach Dean Geddes at sports@inkym.com
|
