Girls’ Lacrosse Uses Fighting Attitude in Win
Big Red girls’ lacrosse came out of the gates firing in Saturday’s 11-8 win over Milton. The team secured an early lead and never let up. Coming off a very tough 18-6 loss to Noble & Greenough, the girls were angry and ready to beat anyone in their way. Exeter improved to 5-2 on the season and are still on pace for one of their best seasons in recent years.
The team was able to convert a few easy opportunities early on and continued playing strong throughout the first half. At the start of the second half, Milton was aggressive and snuck in a few goals. But Coach Christina Breen saw the team getting away from their game and called a timeout and got them refocused. “During the timeout, Coach got us totally psyched up and we finished the game strong,” lower Josie Russ said.
Milton continued to go on small runs in the second half, but Exeter’s stifling defense was able to stop them each time, thanks to some incredible defensive plays by senior captain Hannah Wellington, such as her stick-save on a sure goal for Milton. Upper Ruby Epler and Russ also contributed heavily on defense.
Goalie Kat Racine was incredible, stopping shot after shot. “Hannah, Ruby and Josie were all forces on defense. Their presence was definitely felt. Kat was great, saving many shots down the stretch,” Breen said.
Offensively, it was a total team effort, with Big Red having seven different goal scorers. Lower Bronwyn Shields stood out on attack with a pair of goals and assists. Shields also had some clutch draw controls to help seal the game for Exeter. The team also had a bit of luck on offense, as Wellington accidentally scored from 40 yards out on a pass meant for Shields on which the goalie was not ready midway through the second half.
Some of the team’s newest players also added several contributions to the win. “Jacie Lemos had an amazing game and some of the other younger players like Lexi Butler and Noa Siegel really stepped up,” Wellington said.
The team is still trying to stick to it’s motto “Full 50,” as it had some lapses in focus which allowed Milton to make the game a little closer than it should have been. “We’re still working on holding our intensity for the entire 50 minutes, but when we needed to deliver we pulled through,” Wellington said. “Once we can keep our intensity for the entire 50 minutes of a game we will be unstoppable.”
The team is looking unstoppable when they bring it. They will try to bring it with them on the long drive to Loomis Chaffee School this Saturday. With “Full 50” in mind, the girls will try to keep the long drive out of their minds and come home with the victory.