After dropping a heartbreaking 12-11 overtime contest to Messalonskee for its first loss of the season on Tuesday, the Mt. Ararat High School girls lacrosse team looked to get back to its winning ways against rival Brunswick on Thursday.
“We did come out on the short end up at Messalonskee and we played a really good game,” Eagles head coach Sam Chard said. “And today they (Brunswick) played a really tough one. Right in the beginning Brunswick kept right with us, but I think it was just a matter of time once we got our groove going again, and that’s our transition game and our offense. They had something to prove and they wanted to beat this team again.”
“We worked on keeping our heads up and really matching their speed and their endurance,” Dragons coach Alex Sullivan said about her team’s preparation. “That was the name of our game and we came out of the gates with guns blazing, ready to go. It was nice and tight in the beginning, but they’re a good team, a very good team.”
At first Brunswick was able to respond to each of Mt. Ararat’s first two goals. Emily Welch was able to cut through the middle and throw one over the shoulder of Dragons goalie EmaLeigh Aschbrenner for a 1-0 lead. However, just over a minute later Brunswick’s Anna McMillan tied it up when she found a hole in the defense and bounced a shot in.
Katie Labbay answered the call almost right away for the Eagles, receiving a pass from Lauren Williams, who also assisted Welch’s goal, and pulled a similar move as McMillan did, dropping a shot low after zig-zagging through the Dragon defense.
McMillan notched her second goal at the 16:41 marker to tie the game at two, crashing the net on the left side.
Mt. Ararat surged from there, totaling 16 shots through the first half, while firing in six straight goals, with Labbay leading the way with two more goals to collect a hat trick early.
Just over a minute remained in the half and the Eagles owned an 8-2 lead, but the Dragons got help from Rebecca Bailey, who was able to give her team its third goal after a block was called on an Eagle defender at the top of the arc.
“It’s good for our team and they need all that pressure,” Chard said in regard to the Dragons’ high-intensity defense. “Brunswick did a great job and I think they had some really good looks and good shots on net. Fortunately our defense stepped up and played well. We played better defense today than we did on Tuesday.”
Eagles soar
It only took 16 seconds to set the tone for the second half. Eagle Alison Nolan was set up inside the crease all by herself and was dished a pass from Labbay, allowing her to make a quick turn on the pass to give Mt. Ararat a 9-3 advantage.
It was all Eagles from there, scoring seven of the next eight goals of the half, with Welch bringing her total to five in that time. Bailey put a stop to the Eagles’ run with a goal with 6:38 remaining. McMillan handed off a pass to Bailey, who dropped it down low for the Dragons fourth tally.
However, the Eagles got off one more with thanks to Welch for the 16-4 eventual final.
“We look at what we can work on,” Sullivan said in terms of facing a high-caliber team such as Mt. Ararat. “They know what they should be proud of and everything we’ve worked on in the last couple of days they brought to this game. They did such a good job of exceeding their own expectations.”
Going into Thursday, the Eagles occupied the No. 2 slot in the Eastern A Heal Point Standings, while Brunswick sat at No. 6. With only three games left for the Eagles and two for the Dragons, both teams look to make a final push for a strong seed.
“In lacrosse anything can happen,” Chard said. “ I think our girls are disappointed about the loss on Tuesday, but they’re pretty fired up. You hate to go into playoffs with a clean slate and I told them that. I’d rather lose one during the regular season than in the postseason. They’re ready and they’re excited, we have a pretty good squad.”
“We’re going to go into it like we went into this game,” Sullivan said about the remainder of the season. “I think the girls really responded to this level of intensity and it’s only up from here.”
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