Girls’ Lacrosse Rallies for Comeback Win in Second Half

Exeter girls’ lacrosse won a nail biter on Saturday, beating Thayer Academy 12-11, improving their record to 2-1 this season. The team stormed back from a 8-4 halftime deficit that became a 9-4 deficit midway into the second half. Due to great defensive play and converting on all of their goal-scoring opportunities, the team completed the comeback, taking the lead late in the game.At halftime, the team was down on themselves for not capitalizing on any opportunities. Coach Christina Breen gave an extensive speech to motivate the girls, and they took her words to heart. “Coach Breen told us at halftime that we could win the game but it was going to be difficult and we would have to work extremely hard,” senior captain Hannah Wellington said.After coming out of the half still struggling and allowing another goal, lower Bronwyn Shields scored two goals, bringing the team’s spirit up. “Bronwyn’s celebration after her second goal really rallied the team. That was the moment that the momentum changed in our favor,” Wellington said.Shields credits her goals to great assists from lower Jacie Lemos and prep Emily Ryan and a bit of luck. “With the second goal, I was just so surprised that I actually made it! I probably had a 5 percent chance of making it from the where I was, but hey, the 5 percent did it,” Shields said.After Shields’ momentum-shifting goals, Big Red took over and dominated the rest of the way. “You could tell that Thayer’s coaches were trying everything they could to make something happen offensively in the second half, but it just wasn't working,” lower Lexi Butler said. Thayer’s troubles can be attributed to Exeter’s defense picking up the intensity.“Josie Russ and Hannah Wellington came up with some clutch defensive plays in the second half that made the comeback possible,” Coach Breen said.Jacie Lemos also came up big in the win against the older, more experienced Thayer squad. A career game for Lemos, she provided 5 goals and 3 assists. “The best I’ve ever seen her play,” Breen said.The team motto this year has been “Full 50” as the team wants to remember to take nothing for granted and play from the first whistle to the final horn every game. Seeing that all of the team’s games have been decided by one goal, including giving up leads and coming back from large deficits, the team surely knows the importance of both starting and finishing games. “The team really played a full 50 minutes on Saturday. I could not be more proud of them,” Breen said.Saturday’s game was a huge win for the team as they were underdogs to a Thayer team with seven D-1 recruits. Thayer knocked the girls around last year to the tune of a 12-4 loss. And with Thayer supposedly having gotten better with all of their top recruits, the win is that much sweeter. Big Red hopes to extend their winning streak to three games this Saturday at NMH.