Lacrosse Loses on Late Second Half Goal
Big Red girls’ lacrosse suffered a tough 9-10 loss to Thayer Academy Saturday, evening its season record to 2-2. The game was neck and neck for the duration. Neither Exeter nor Thayer was going to let the other take the lead. Having competed in a hard-fought game, the girls came home relatively content, choosing to focus on possibilities for improvement rather than lamenting the close loss.
Despite the score, co-captain and senior Clara Hobbie believed that the game went well, as Big Red matched Thayer “fight for fight.” According to Hobbie, Exeter’s defense was “especially strong, one time not letting Thayer take a shot for nine minutes.” The team’s goalie, upper Allegra Grant, also helped out the team, saving some crucial shots.
“Our shooting percentage was a lot better, and we capitalized on our opportunities."
The offensive squad also put up a fight, constantly trying to break through Thayer’s defense. Senior Walker Foehl said, “Our shooting percentage was a lot better, and we capitalized on our opportunities. They played a very strong backer defense, which put a lot of pressure on our attackers.”
Lower Hannah Gustafson emphasized how crucial it was that the offense find the weakness of Thayer’s goalie and utilize that vulnerability. “They ran a good backer defense, but their goalie was not strong. Once we started using our fast breaks and shooting more, we were back in the lead.”
Overall, the team played well together. After working together for a few weeks, the players have unified into a team, highlighting each other’s strengths and covering for each other’s weaknesses.
Out of the entire game, the only thing Hobbie was disappointed in was the referee’s calls, even attributing the loss to poor refereeing. “The worst thing about the game, and ultimately the deciding factor of who won, was the referees. The calls were just dumb, especially in the critical last few minutes of the game.”
Despite the loss, the girls improved greatly from their last game, and because of that, many girls on the team still count the game as an overall success. Controlling the pace of the game was one of the team’s main focuses against Thayer, and according to Hobbie, the team mostly achieved that goal.
Still, the team had its faults during the game. In the upcoming practices, Big Red will work to improve on these areas. Reflecting upon the game, Hobbie said that the team could work on opening up the midfield more often for passes as they transitioned the ball from defense to offense.
In addition, Gustafson felt that the team was too uptight and nervous during the game. She emphasized that the team has to loosen up, remember that lacrosse is fun and go with their gut.
“Sometimes we think too much about the game and think about what we should've done and dwell on mistakes. Lacrosse is fun, and sometimes I think we all forget that,” Gustafson said. “As individuals, I think we need to be more confident with the ball and know that we’re on the field because the coaches believe in us and our teammates believe in us.”
The team hopes to improve on these different aspects for their next game against Northfield Mount Hermon.The girls will be looking for some home support and a win to turn around their luck.