There has never been a shortage of talent on Londonderry High School girls’ lacrosse squads. And the 2015 LHS girls’ contingent had a handful of its standouts acknowledged by the Division I girls’ lax coaches with all-state honors recently.
Junior defender Sarah Jackes was named a First-Team All-State selection, Queens University-bound (Charlotte, N.C.) senior attack Sarah Bell, University of Massachusetts at Lowell-bound senior midfielder Noelle Lambert, and junior attack Breda Holland received Second-Team honors, and Coastal Carolina University-bound (Conway, S.C.) senior Rachel Stevens got honorable mention.
With veteran coach Bob Slater back at the helm of the LHS team for the 2015 campaign following an unsettled 2014 season, that talented quintet helped the Lady Lancers post a 10-6 regular season record and snag the number five seed going into the Division I post-season.
Slater’s squad never got on a roll during its peaks-and-valleys 2015 campaign, never tallying a winning streak longer than four games.
Londonderry enjoyed a superb start to the season by winning its first three matches, but it then lost its next three. The Lady Lancers then won their next four matches, but followed up that success by dropping two of its next three decisions.
The LHS crew then won two consecutive contests, but got edged by the rival Pinkerton Academy Lady Astros in the final regular season match for both teams to end up at 10-6.
But the Lady Lancers’ run in the Division I tournament was short, as the locals were edged by the fourth-ranked Exeter High Lady Blue Hawks on that opponent’s home field in the quarterfinals.