YARMOUTH—Greely’s girls’ lacrosse team, the reigning Class B state champion, is already at an elite level, but the Rangers believe they can get even better in their quest for a repeat title and Tuesday afternoon, in the rain at Lewis Field, they took another step in that direction against the host North Yarmouth Academy Panthers, who won Class C a year ago.
In less than three minutes, Greely shot to a 4-0 lead, as senior Lauren Dennen scored twice and seniors Jenny Medrano and Charlotte Taylor also found the net.
But the Rangers would go cold for a long time and the Panthers countered, as senior Vy Tran and junior Lauryn Casey scored to make the score 4-2 at halftime.
NYA had its chances to draw even closer, but Greely senior goalie Addyson Babcock made some clutch saves and with 20:47 left, the Rangers snapped a 20-plus minute scoring drought, as junior Asja Kelman scored.
Taylor, senior Allie Read and Kelman then added quick goals in succession to essentially salt it away and Greely went on to a 10-4 victory.
Dennen and Kelman both scored three goals as the Rangers improved to 3-1 on the season, dropping the Panthers to 1-2 in the process.
“Obviously, we want to (win) it again, but at the same time, it’s a lot of pressure,” said Kelman. “We want (to repeat) just as badly as everyone thinks we want it. We always work together every day at practice. Getting one percent better every day is our motto this season and I think we’re getting there.”
Two champs
Greely started with a 20-0 home win over Gray-New Gloucester, then fell at reigning Class A champion Kennebunk, 14-4, before bouncing back Saturday with a 13-8 home win over York in a rematch of last year’s Class B state game.
NYA, meanwhile, began by beating host Waynflete (14-8), then lost at Freeport, 12-7.
Greely won last year’s meeting, 10-5, in Yarmouth.
Tuesday, on a far-from-ideal late-April afternoon (raw, windy, chilly, drizzly and just 44 degrees), the Panthers hoped to beat the Rangers for the first time since May 6, 2015 (10-9 at home), but instead, Greely made it eight straight in the series.
It took over six minutes for a goal to be scored, but once the Rangers broke the ice, they added more in a hurry.
With 18:59 left in the first half, Dennen took a pass from Read and beat NYA freshman goalie Anaya Roundy.
Just over a minute later, Dennen struck again, unassisted.
With 17:18 to go, Dennen this time set up a goal, by Taylor.
Then a minute later, Medrano’s free position goal made it 4-0.
But Greely’s offense suddenly went cold and the Panthers would get back in it.
With 15:04 on the first half clock, Tran scored unassisted.
Then, with 6:38 left, after a turnover, Lauryn Casey’s unassisted goal cut the deficit to two.
NYA had chances to draw even closer, but Babcock saved a shot from Tran, then robbed sophomore Lyla Casey, keeping the score 4-2 at halftime.
Just seconds into the second half, after a Tran draw win, Lauryn Casey looked to make it a one-goal game, but again, Babcock came up big.
With 20:47 to go, the Rangers snapped a 20 minute, 31 second scoring drought, as Taylor found Kelman for her first goal.
Taylor then added an unassisted goal with 19:08 left.
With 15:51 on the clock, Read scooped up a ground ball in front and finished.
Then, with 12:14 to play, Kelman converted a free position to stretch the lead to 8-2.
NYA would finally respond with 6:59 remaining, as Tran set up Dube for a goal to snap a 24:39 drought.
With 5:51 left, Lyla Casey passed in front to Lauryn Casey, who one-timed a shot past Babcock, but that’s as close as the Panthers would get.
After Lauryn Casey missed wide and Dube was denied by Babcock, Kelman’s third goal, off a feed from Dennen, ended all doubt with 3:47 to play and with 1:52 to go, Read set up Dennen for the game’s final goal and Greely prevailed, 10-4.
“At halftime, we talked about being too stationary on attack and needing to start moving around,” said Kelman. “When that clicked in our heads that really brought us up to play our best.We never drop our heads, no matter the opponent, and I think that makes us strong.”
“We had a better second half than the first,” said Greely’s assistant coach Carrie Bush, who was filling in for head coach Becca Koelker, who was out sick. “That was our goal going in. We cleaned up some things.”
Dennen and Kelman both scored three times.
“I just play my game and keep my head up,” Kelman said. “My speed is definitely helpful to bring to the team. That’s my advantage. No matter what, even if I’m not a key player in a game, I want to be there for everyone. It doesn’t matter the weather, I’m always having fun with my team, connecting, building memories every day.”
Taylor added two goals and Medrano and Read finished with one apiece.
“We’re definitely a threat at all points of attack,” said Kelman. “We all have our strong suits. We trust each other. We’re always looking around, trusting each other and working as a unit. We never work as one.”
“Our balance is important,” said Bush. “To be able to trust in each other and have confidence in each other’s ability is great. Everyone who gets the ball is a threat. It’s fun to have those pieces all over the field. Charlotte is just awesome. Lauren took control down low. Asja’s everywhere, all the time, with her athleticism.”
Dennen and Read also had two assists, while Taylor added one.
Babcock made five key saves.
“Addyson does a great job keeping us in games when we really need those saves,” Bush said. “It’s great to have an even-tempered goalie.”
Taylor had a team-high 10 ground balls.
The Rangers had a 41-35 advantage in ground balls, a 13-9 edge in shots on cage and overcame 23 turnovers.
NYA’s offense featured two goals from Lauryn Casey and one apiece from Dube and Tran.
Tran and Lyla Casey each had an assist.
Roundy made four saves.
The Panthers had a 10-6 edge in draws and turned the ball over 24 times.
“We came out with an intensity which I really liked this game,” NYA coach Molly Moss-Stokes said. “Overall, I’m happy with how we played. Greely’s a great team. They have some really good players and made some awesome plays throughout. It’s always fun to play them. We’re looking forward to taking that intensity to teams in our class. We could have taken care of the ball better, but overall, I was happy with our hustle. Coming out in the second half, I was hoping for a little more productivity on attack, but it didn’t happen.”
Work to do
NYA is idle until next Tuesday, when it goes to Lake Region.
“We’re excited with the direction we’re going,” Moss-Stokes said. “We’re a work in progress, but I like what I’m seeing.”
Greely has two more games this week, at Windham Thursday and at Freeport Saturday.
“We just have to keep our heads up all season, get that one percent better every practice,” Kelman said. “We have so much team chemistry and that keeps us strong. If we practice like we play, we’ll get there.”
“We’re coming along and we’re building every day,” said Bush. “Our goal is to peak at the end.”
Sports Editor Michael Hoffer can be reached at mhoffer@theforecaster.net.
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