It was the eighth win of the season for a Kearsarge girls’ lacrosse team that has entrenched itself among the elite in Division III. But Cougars Coach Hilary Grimes still saw enough to make Wednesday afternoon a breakthrough of sorts.
“I think today, we definitely moved the ball better up the field than in other games,” she said. “And our defense was better than I’ve seen at any point.”
Indeed, up against another of the division’s challengers, Kearsarge couldn’t have looked much better. The Cougars beat Lebanon, 14-5, taking command with a 9-3 lead at halftime and suffocating the Raiders in the second half.
“Historically, Lebanon (5-3) has always been a pretty tough battle for us,” Grimes said. “We came in today expecting nothing less, and just tried to play our best game.”
The Cougars (8-2) accomplished that by sticking to the concepts Grimes has been hammering home since the start of the season. Pressure on defense. Winning faceoffs. Being patient on the attack.
“We’ve been working on a lot of our transition stuff and working on defense in practice,” she said.
It paid off yesterday as the Cougars denied the Raiders chances to get back into the game, both on the attack and while defending it.
“For defense, especially with the double-teaming, it’s stuff we’ve been stressing all season,” Grimes said, crediting a group led by Lily Huntoon, Brie Sullivan, Lara Stokes, Izabella Von Beren and goalie Anya Nowicki, who made 10 saves. “It’s all been coming along. Our defense was great. Probably the best we’ve seen all season.”
On offense, it was a family affair. Sisters Eleanor and Leslie Angus were a nightmare for the Lebanon defense, with Leslie scoring five goals and Eleanor adding four with two assists. Kaileigh Davis chipped in two goals with one assist.
“Both of them are good at seeing when it’s time to take the ball to the net, but they also know when not to force it,” Grimes said of the sisters. “They’re pretty good at finding open players.”
The Cougars are confident it can pay off in the weeks to come, too. Kearsarge’s only loss in the last eight games was an ugly 19-3 decision to top seed Laconia, but the Sachems were topped by St. Thomas, which lost earlier in the year to Derryfield, which has lost once all year.
Which team handed Derryfield that lone setback? That would be Kearsarge – adding all the evidence necessary to the notion that Grimes’s squad could be the team to beat at any time.
“When we saw that St. Thomas had beat Laconia, it showed that,” she said. “We didn’t play our best game, and Laconia played very well against us.
“It really showed that anything can happen on any given day. You’ve just got to come out and play your hardest.”
(Drew Bonifant can be reached at 369-3340, by email at abonifant@cmonitor.com, or on Twitter at @dbonifant)
From coaches’ reports
Nashua North 15, Concord 13
Key players: Concord – Steph Resnick (5 goals), Christina Soule (2 goals), Tori Pelletier (goal), Olivia Painchaud (goal), Becca Proulx (goal), Jess Nelson (goal), Maddie Farrelly (goal)
Highlights/key moments: Trailing 11-2 at the half, Concord came roaring back, going on a 11-2 scoring run and trailing just 14-13 late in the second half. With two minutes left in the game, North was able to score and put the finishing touches on the game.
Coach’s quote: “The team played hard and played together to go on an 11-goal streak in the second half.” – Concord’s Steph Johnson
Records: Concord 4-5; Nashua North 6-7
John Stark 13, MV 1
Key players: John Stark – Rylee Ledoux (3 goals), Lizzie Brandt (3 goals), Danielle Galli (2 goals, assist), Olivia Sohl (3 assists), Kelsey Dobbins (goal)
Highlights/key moments: The Generals opened up early on, building a lead of 10-1 at halftime. Stark earned its fourth consecutive win, allowing 11 players to score, including Dobbins, who scored the first goal of her career.
Records: John Stark 6-3; MV 1-8
Bow 18, Coe-Brown 4
Top players: Bow – Taylor Darrell (6 goals), Amanda Murray (3 goals, 3 assists), Bridget Ehrenberg (2 goals), Sofia Darrell (2 goals), Julia Landcastle (2 goals)
Highlights/key moments: With Taylor Darrell leading the way, the Falcons easily earned their fourth straight win.
Records: Bow 6-2; Coe-Brown 3-7
Salem 10, Concord 2
Key players: Concord – Izzy Dunn (2-run home run), Abby Rochette (3 IP, 5 K, 1 ER); Salem – Meghan O’Brien (6 IP, one hit), Victoria Andrade (2 hits)
Highlights/key moments: Salem continued its undefeated season with a dominant win over the Crimson Tide. Concord has lost four of its last five.
Coach’s quote: “Salem’s undefeated for a reason. We need to put this game behind us and get ready for Dover (on) Friday.” – Concord’s Duke Sawyer
Records: Concord 4-8; Salem 10-0
Bishop Brady 14, Hopkinton 2
Top players: Bishop Brady – Lily Rivera (3 hits, home run, 3 runs, 4 RBI), Abby Santis (3 hits, 2-run home run, double, 3 RBI, run), Emily Santis (3 hits, 2 runs), Aniecia Vargas (2 hits, 2 runs), Becca Olson (2 runs), Cait Mallahan (run), Emily Manning (2 RBI); Hopkinton – Gabby Lajeunesse (hit), Felicia Gordon (good defense in outfield), Maddy Eborn (run)
Highlights/key moments: The Green Giants broke open a 6-2 game with four runs in both the third and fourth innings.
Records: Brady 6-3; Hopkinton 5-4
Franklin 9, Winnisquam 3
Top players: Franklin – Kaylee Marshe (5 IP, 3 runs, 3 hits), Anna Doherty (4 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBI), Rachel Capri (2 hits), Hanne Nichols (2 hits), Meghan Johnston (2 hits), Breanna Styles (2 hits); Winnisquam – Lindsey Raymond (2-for-4, RBI double)
Highlights/key moments: Franklin took command early, scoring four runs in the second inning to turn a 2-1 lead into a comfortable margin. Winnisquam’s five errors led to four unearned Golden Tornadoes runs.
Coach’s quote: “This wasn’t the smoothest of games and we certainly made some mistakes on the basepaths, but we hit the ball hard all game long and our bats carried us through this one.” – Franklin’s Skip DuBois
Records: Franklin 9-0; Winnisquam 6-4
Monadnock 21, Hillsboro-Deering 5
Top players: Hillsboro-Deering – Emma Moore (3 hits, RBI), Kimmy Rodier (2-for-3, RBI), Melissa Veitch (2-for-2, RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Missing three starters due to injury, the Hillcats weren’t able to keep up with a potent Huskies lineup.
Coach’s quote: “We’re plagued with injuries. That’s exactly what’s killing us now.” – H-D’s Shawn Atkins
Records: H-D 1-9; Monadnock 6-4
Concord 9, Nashua North 0
Key players: Concord – Becky Cistulli (8-0 win at No. 1), Alex Killinger (8-0 at No. 2), Colleen Casey (8-0 at No. 3), Olivia Cattabriga (8-2 at No. 4), Sabrina Hart-Meyer (8-6 at No. 5), Irene Escobar (8-5 at No. 6)
Highlights/key moments: The Crimson Tide continued its recent roll, winning its third straight match and its second straight by a 9-0 score. After the singles sweep, Cistulli and Killinger won 8-2 at first doubles, Casey and Hart-Meyer won 8-1 at second doubles and Cattabriga and Escobar held on in a tiebreaker to complete the team sweep, 9-8 (7-3).
Records: Concord 7-3, Nashua North 5-5
Hanover 6, Bishop Brady 3
Key players: Brady – Sydney Herrington (8-0 win at No. 1), Ravalika Damerla (8-5 at No. 2)
Highlights/key moments: Damerla won her third straight tight match against a talented opponent, this time coming back from a 5-3 deficit by taking five straight games. Herrington continued her winning ways at the top spot and then teamed with Damerla for an 8-6 win at first doubles.
Coach’s quote: “Hanover is one of the top two teams in the state and should contend for the title.” – Brady’s Lee Herrington
Records: Brady 3-7; Hanover 9-0
Bow 7, Moultonborough 2
Key players: Bow – Laura Zbehlik (8-0 win at No. 1 singles), Nandita Kasireddy (8-0 win at No. 2), Casey Day (8-1 win at No. 3), Claire Mulvaney (9-7 win at No. 4), Sarah Zecha (8-5 win at No. 5), Julia Currier (8-0 win at No. 6), Zbehlik/Mulvaney (8-2 win at No. 1 Doubles)
Highlights/key moments: Mulvaney forced a tiebreak after trailing 5-1, and the rest of the singles swept the rest of the match.
Coach’s quote: “We’re playing well but we still have some things to work on as we have some big matches coming up. Overall, the girls’ deserve a lot of credit having played four matches in the last three days with two more to come before the end of the week.” – Bow’s Jonsey Rainville
Records: Bow 10-0; Moultonborough 4-7
Littleton 8, Kearsarge 1
Key players: Kearsarge – Felicia McSweeney (9-7 win at No. 6 singles)
Highlights/key moments: After starting 1-4, Littleton won its sixth in a row with a convincing win over Kearsarge. The Cougars haven’t won since April 15.
Records: Kearsarge 1-10; Littleton 7-4