BOW – Watch a Bow girls’ lacrosse game, and there’s a high probability you’ll watch the Falcons score 19 goals. The only question is how many will they allow? On Friday against Coe-Brown, it was another shutout, the latest in a string of dominant victories to propel Division III’s top team to 8-0 on the season.

Friday was Bow’s third consecutive 19-0 victory; they’ve now outscored opponents this season, 144-25.

In the win, eight players found the back of the net. Junior Olivia Selleck led the way with five goals and added three assists; senior Alex Larrabee had four goals and six assists; senior Lyndsey LaPerle had a hat trick of her own to go along with two assists.

Here are three notes on where both the Falcons and Bears stand at the halfway point in the season.

Bow needs to keep finding ways to stay motivated

Winning games by an average of nearly 15 goals can make it hard to stay locked in during practice. But a lack of motivation isn’t something head coach Chris Raabe has encountered much.

In fact, earlier in the week when rain canceled practice, the players still met up and threw the ball around after school.

“They just love the game,” Raabe said. “The whole team, all they want to do is play lacrosse. They kind of motivate themselves.”

A third 19-0 win in a week, while the result Bow hoped for, still means the Falcons have only played one game this season decided by fewer than nine goals. 

Next Wednesday, a matchup with D-I Portsmouth (7-2) awaits and should pose the toughest test Bow faces until the postseason. The Falcons also have matchups with Concord Christian (6-1) and Gilford (8-0) to follow, so competition should grow a bit stiffer in the coming weeks.

Raabe’s still hoping to see improvement getting better looks close to the cage

It might be hard to decipher when a team wins 19-0, but Raabe noticed the Falcons becoming a bit antsy with the ball around the Coe-Brown net. While they were still able to force their way in and score, she knows that won’t be a sustainable strategy against more talented opponents.

“Sometimes we’re forcing the ball,” she said. “We can force it because of the competition that we've had. With better competition, we can't throw that ball. I don't know if they're getting anxious or restless in doing it, (but) on some passes on the inside I'd like to see improvement.”

Raabe also felt they were a bit rusty throwing and catching, partly because poor weather throughout week meant they hadn’t practiced outside since April 18, the Tuesday before their spring break.

Still, with 14 assists on the 19 goals, Bow did well enough finding the open player and finishing shots.

Coe-Brown looking for confidence after a second-straight blowout loss

The Bears bounced back after an 0-2 start to the year with consecutive wins over Lebanon and Trinity, but they’ve now lost their last two by combined score of 33-4. That confidence they’d built up can disappear quite quickly, and it’s something head coach Kristin Cimino hopes they can rediscover soon enough.

“It was a tough game today,” Cimino said. “I’m hoping as we start our second half of the season with games coming up, (we’re) going to be playing teams that we'll be hopefully more competitive with. We’re hoping to get some momentum to get our confidence back. Our confidence is down playing teams of this caliber. Bow is an outstanding team. They've been for years. “

One standout for Coe-Brown, though, was sophomore goalie Alexis Muse. Despite not receiving a ton of help from her defense, Muse made several impressive stops, especially in the first half, to try to give her team a fighting chance. After missing most of her first season with a broken thumb, Muse looks to be one of the keys to the Bears turning things around.

“Alexis is a really important part of the team,” Cimino said. “She makes some really great stops. She’s vocal. She's a sophomore. I look forward to the next couple years with her. … I can't say enough about her play and what she does for us.”

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