Girls' Lacrosse Pull off Preseason Win

Exeter girls’ lacrosse dominated Dana Hall School at home, taking away a 16-5 victory last Saturday. Even though this game was only a scrimmage, the game was a strong start to the season and a great confidence boost for the team, with each player taking part in the win. Looking to improve off last year’s 6-9 record, the team’s effort started them off the right foot.After a preseason team trip to Florida, Big Red picked up the pace and destroyed a Dana Hall team that was not prepared to face the girls. “I think, overall, the entire team played well,” lower Kirsten Nergaard said. “We played really well together, and we definitely saw improvement from our preseason games in Florida.”Teammates said that lower Bronwyn Shields was a vital part in the win. “Bronwyn did an awesome job on winning the draws,” lower Jacie Lemos said.Shields’ great work on the draws earned the team extra possessions throughout the game. Lemos, Nergaard, lower Noa Siegel, and captain upper Marley Jenkins were the other standouts.The first game is always one of the toughest, but the team made sure to stay focused and get the job done. “I think we did a good job of keeping a cool head and playing our game during the scrimmage,” Lemos said.All of the girls played with confidence and a drive to start the sea- son well. The team members are still getting used to playing together, as they have only had a few practices by this point. They were able to build a lot of chemistry during the game, though, running plenty of offense and leading to a high scoring output.“It was good to run our plays with all of the girls there. Because not everyone was able to come to Florida, this is our first time playing a game with the whole team,” prep Emily Ryan said.Wanting to improve upon last year’s mediocre season, the easy win was a good confidence boost. “I think the teams we’ll be playing in the future will be much more challenging, but I think we’ve proven to ourselves that we are good enough to really compete and win a lot of games this season,” Lemos said, echoing the team’s optimistic attitude.The new additions to the team were excited and nervous to play Saturday. For the preps, the game was their first taste of lacrosse at the high school level. “All of us preps were pretty nervous, but the competition wasn’t that tough so it got easier,” prep Emily Ryan said. “I think it was great that everyone was able to play and get their game feet under them. Who knows when someone’s going to be called on to play a big role on any given day?”The team welcomes Choate Rosemary Hall this Saturday at 12 p.m. for their first regular season game, barring a potential snowstorm. Choate has handed Big Red close losses each of the past two seasons, but with a confident group of girls ready to take on anyone, it’s going to be tough to do it a third time. Hopefully, Exeter will be able to begin the regular season with a win.