GVLax Battles Against Brooks
A Brooks School player rushes down the Phelps Stadium field, but quickly gets stopped by Exeter upper Peyton Sanborn. Sanborn captures the ball and speeds down the field, past the Brooks’ players. She looks for a shot before firing the ball past the Brooks goalie. Exeter fights back and is now tied with Brooks, 9-9. This past Saturday, girls’ varsity lacrosse played a close game against Brooks School, with Brooks edging Big Red by a final score of 12-15.
The goalie, upper Cammie Lavoie, was applauded by a few of her teammates for her outstanding performance in net. Upper Peyton Sanborn said, “Cammie had some great saves. She is always pretty consistent and helps us defensively every game.”
Other teammates also regarded Lavoie as an important player in the game. Senior and co-captain Anna Reaman said, “She had an unreal game with some amazing saves.” Reaman applauded prep Rachel Shu and upper Chandler Jean-Jacques, adding, “Chandler always shines on the draw circle and scoring goals, and Rachel played very aggressively all game and caused a lot of turnovers.”
She added, “The game against Brooks this Saturday was a tough one. We went out there and played well and fought for every ground ball. The team excelled in the transition and team offense aspects of the game.”
"There was an incredible spirit in the stadium on Wednesday night, which made it a fun and exciting battle.”
Lower Dennesha Rolle shared similar sentiments regarding Lavoie’s efforts. She added, “Cammie played so well on Saturday and definitely kept us in the game. She had many amazing saves, not surprising because she is always giving her all and shutting out shots.”
Numerous yellow cards were distributed at the game, and according to Rolle, it was because players were “hitting each other in the head.” She added, “We were down by four and came back to tie them twice which made the game more aggressive than usual.”
Sanborn expanded on the caliber of intensity of which both teams were playing. She explained, “Saturday was a particularly aggressive game, and it contributed to the outcome of the game.” She also noted the amount of yellow cards distributed by the referees, adding that there were about five.
“There were some questionable calls by the refs. But in the end it came down to us and we just were not able to put as many goals in the back of the net as we wanted to,” Reaman said of the officiating during the game.
Despite the team’s upsetting loss, Lavoie emphasized the importance of the game and how it will keep the Big Red girls on their feet for future matches. “It was a tough fight,” she said. “Our past few games haven’t been that competitive, so I think this one was a good reminder for the next games to come.”
Sanborn agreed with Lavoie, adding that losses help to inspire the team and motivate them to work harder to be victorious in the coming games. “Our team is extremely persistent, and we don’t like to lose. I am sure we will continue to put our all into our practices so we come out on top in the future.”
Rolle applauded her teammates for their success offensively. She said, “Michaella, Lauren, Molly and Peyton all had pretty amazing goals. Their offensive skills helped us out and motivated the rest of us to keep up the intensity.”
This back and forth game excited the girls and allowed them to all play to their fullest potential. Sanborn added, “We all had pretty great games but definitely need to work on our cohesivity looking ahead towards the end of the season.”
Senior Eleanor Mallett agreed with Sanborn. She said, “Our problem this season has consistently been meshing as an attack unit and getting goals in the net, which we struggled with a lot against Brooks. However, there was an incredible spirit in the stadium on Wednesday night, which made it a fun and exciting battle.”