CONCORD – This year certainly hasn’t been the kindest to Concord High girls’ lacrosse.
After losing to Bishop Guertin, 19-6, on Friday, the Tide are now 2-11, good for 11th out of 13 teams in Division I. With four games remaining in the season, Concord still hopes to finish strong, building momentum for next year.
On Friday, senior Emma Beaujouan led the Tide with four goals; freshman Emma Pelletier and junior Sarah Leuci each had one goal as well. For Bishop Guertin, Skylar Naftali led the way with four goals; 10 other players found the back of the cage for the Cardinals.
Here are three notes on the state of the Tide:
Concord needs to cut down the turnovers, especially in the defensive end: While not the difference in a 13-goal loss, the Tide struggled on Friday clearing the ball from its defensive end. On takeaways and missed shots from the Cardinals, Concord often turned it right back over, leading to easy opportunities.
“We had a very tough time clearing it,” said head coach Terry Anderson. “If we just improve on clearing it when we make a save or get a turnover, that’ll make a big difference in the next game.”
How do you improve clearing? Practice, for one. Also, preparing for double teams helps prevent situations where turnovers occur in the defensive end.
“Sometimes we get ourselves caught in a double or a triple, and then we get stripped of the ball,” Anderson said. “Part of it is understanding – don’t let that happen – which means move the ball. Then once we move it, we need to continue to move it with good passes, good connections.”
The loss comes on the heels of a win over Salem that snapped a five-game losing streak: While Salem has also had a rough season – currently 1-11 – the Tide still took care of business against the Blue Devils on Wednesday in a 15-6 victory.
That performance, Anderson said, serves as a model for what can be successful for the group moving forward.
“I was very pleased with that game because from start to finish, they really controlled the ball,” he said. “They maintained it when they had it, and they took quality shots and fought hard for it when it was on the ground and came up with it more often than not.”
Anderson still grateful he returned for second stint as head coach: Anderson previously retired from coaching the Tide program after the 2012 season, but he returned in 2019 as a volunteer before stepping back into the head coaching position this season. Although the record isn’t what he hoped it would be, he’s still appreciative of the effort he’s seen from his team all season.
“It’s a wonderful team,” he said. “They’re a great group of girls. They work hard at practice. They give it their best in games, and I think you can’t ask for more other than executing a little bit better at times. It’s been a real pleasure to be around them.”