Johnston opened its first-ever girls’ lacrosse season with games against Chariho and Pilgrim, two of the four teams who were in last season’s Division III semifinals.
Given the tough opponents, the results were predictable – Johnston took a pair of double-digit losses – but the opponents also provided some solace.
Chariho joined the league in 2008 and went winless for two seasons, but climbed slowly to eight wins and the semifinal berth last year. Pilgrim is even newer to the scene, joining in 2011, and the Patriots needed just three seasons to become a powerhouse after a winless debut. They were D-III runners-up last year.
As far apart as the teams seemed last week in a 13-2 Chariho win and a 19-6 Pilgrim victory, they’ve been where Johnston is now.
“Johnston’s a good young, athletic team,” said Pilgrim head coach Tom Flanders. “Like I said to their coach, they remind me of us. You’ve got to take your lumps in the first couple of years. Then you get the hang of it, you start making lacrosse players and you’ve got it going.”
For the Panthers, this year is about the first steps, and the two games last week provided the starting line. In Wednesday’s opener, Lauren Tedesco scored the first goal in Johnston High School lacrosse history and added another later in the game. Alex DiRaimo made three saves in net. Led by Paige Pajarillo’s six goals, Chariho’s offense was just too much.
Against Pilgrim on Friday, the Panthers got an early reminder of what they were up against when Patriots star Haley McCusker scored the 200th goal of her career. She went on to score eight more in the 19-6 victory.
But this time, Johnston had a little offense of its own. Isabella DiRaimo scored four goals and Tedesco had two as the Panthers far exceeded their goal total from the season opener.
“It’s still a learning experience,” said head coach Jay Areson. “The girls are starting to pick it up.”
Johnston fell behind 4-0 against Pilgrim but got it back to 4-2 on back-to-back goals by DiRaimo just nine seconds apart. She scored the first with 17:12 left, won the ensuing draw and sprinted in for another goal at 17:03.
“She picked it up immediately,” Areson said. “She’s got a very strong shot. Even since the last game, her shots actually got harder.”
While DiRaimo and Tedesco would strike again, the problem for Johnston was opportunity. The Panthers struggled to maintain possession, which kept their capable scorers from getting a chance. After Johnston made it 5-3 on a Tedesco goal with 13:29 left in the first half, Pilgrim reeled off seven consecutive goals that essentially put the game away.
“We’re really focused on the catching,” Areson said. “I think that’s what separates us from other teams. Athletically, we’re right there. But right now, we’re a little lagging in the skills department with catching and throwing. That’s one of the things I told them at halftime. If we can gain possession, we’ll be able to compete with them.”
Tedesco scored the first goal of the second half, but Pilgrim tallied the next four and could put it on cruise control the rest of the way. Alex DiRaimo finished with seven saves. Sarah Tedeschi played goalie in the second half.
Pilgrim improved to 2-0 with the victory.
“I know Tom and they do a great job,” Areson said. “They started out just like we did, taking their lumps, but look at where they are now.”
Johnston is hoping to find some success but the main goal will be simple improvement. Tuesday’s game with North Providence was postponed, which means the Panthers will have more than a week between games to work out some more kinks. Their next contest is Tuesday at Westerly.
“Like I told the girls, every game is a learning experience,” Areson said. “We just want to improve one game at a time, keep working on skill, skill, skill.”
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