Panthers come up short against undefeated Pats

Posted

The Pilgrim girls’ lacrosse team kept its perfect record in tact after a hard-fought, 7-4 road victory over Johnston this past Tuesday night. The Pats remain on top of Division III with an 11-0 record, while the Lady Panthers fall to 7-3 as there are only two weeks left in the 2016 regular season with playoffs right around the corner.

“This was a huge victory for us to come here and get a win of this quality,” said Pilgrim head coach Tom Flanders. “Johnston is a tough team and they are well coached. They were a big obstacle tonight, they have a great goalie and some really good scorers.”

“I thought we played well overall, the difference in the game was Pilgrim’s speed and skill,” said Johnston head coach Jay Areson. “We had our chances in the second half, but they were just so much faster than us and their defense was smothering.”

It did not take long for the Pats to get on the board. Hannah Page scored the first of her four goals one minute, 37 seconds into the contest. Johnston’s leading scorer on the season, Grace Sarah, tied the game up with an assist going to Grace Muller. Pilgrim senior Molly Lynch scored 57 seconds later for a 2-1 lead. The Panthers’ Kaylee Lameiro got her team even at 2, prompting Flanders to call a timeout and regroup his team.

The timeout paid off, as the Pats’ Alexia Martins scored 47 seconds later to take a 3-2 lead.

The Panthers would once again tie the game on another Sarah goal 16 seconds later, but Page scored two late goals in the final minute of the first half, the latter coming with just four seconds remaining on the clock, as the Pats took a 5-3 lead into the half.

“Hannah Page is one of our team leaders, she plays goal for me in soccer during the fall, and she scores goals for me in lacrosse during the spring,” Flanders said.

“That goal with four seconds left was a tough goal and it was definitely a momentum changer,” Areson said.

The Pats would not look back in the second half, as they played solid defense and got some key saves from their goaltender, Paula Cavanagh, who had nine saves on the night.

“Cavanagh is fantastic in net for us and she is a solid player and the key to our success in playing some of these tough teams in the division,” Flanders stated.

Pilgrim’s Sophia DeLuca put her team ahead, 6-3, as the second half opened, but the Panthers answered back on Sarah’s third goal of the game to trim the lead to 6-4.

The Panthers’ goalkeeper, Jacsmile Cassion, also had a solid game in net, registering nine saves as she kept her team in the game.

“Jacsmile is phenomenal,” Areson said. “We have leaned on her from the very beginning. She stepped up and asked to play goal in her freshman year two years ago and has turned into a leader. She no longer is that quiet girl.”

Page added an insurance goal for a three-goal lead as she returned from a yellow card. Johnston could not capitalize on a two-player advantage in the second half, as the Pats’ defense stepped it up to get one game closer to a perfect season.

“The biggest thing for us is to take it game by game, and if the perfect season happens, it would be great,” Flanders said. “We did not look past this Johnston team at all and we will not look past Mount Saint Charles either. It would be nice for these kids to go out winners, a lot of the seniors have been with me for a while and we are all close, we lost in two finals and one semifinal together. They have put in a lot of hard work and effort, some of them had not even picked up a lacrosse stick until the ninth grade. They were athletes who played lacrosse, now they are lacrosse players.”

Pilgrim and Johnston have had similar starts to their girls’ lacrosse programs. In its initial year in 2011, Pilgrim went 0-14 and is now on the verge of going 14-0.

Johnston also struggled in its initial season in 2014, and will most likely make its second straight playoff appearance this year. The Panthers lost in the semifinals last year and hope to go beyond that this year.

“We are a young team,” Areson said. “Four freshmen start for me, most of them had never picked up a stick until their freshman year. I keep telling my team we will get there and there is no reason why we should not be in the state finals this year. I hope to meet this Pilgrim team again in the playoffs.”

Pilgrim hosted Mount Saint Charles on Wednesday night. Results were not available at press time. It will travel to North Providence on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. game, before closing out the regular season at home against North Smithfield next Saturday.

The Panthers will hit the road today with a 3:30 p.m. game with Ponaganset, and will finish the season at home against Rogers and Scituate, with the Rogers game most likely determining their seeding in the Division III playoff tournament.  

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here