Wins over Merrimack on the road and Hollis/Brookline at home last week enabled the Londonderry High girls’ lacrosse squad to begin its 2016 campaign with a 2-0 record.
The Lady Lancers, who went 10-7 last spring, nipped the host Merrimack High Lady Tomahawks by a 11-9 tally Wednesday, April 13, and got their record to 2-0 with an 18-5 hammering of Hollis-Brookline in Londonderry’s season-opener two days later.
The LHS squad stepped into the 2016 season with important returning starters in seniors Breda Holland (an attack), Emily Davison (midfielder), Gabby Morris (middie), Sarah Jackes (defense), and Dominique Breault (attack), and junior defender Sami Lecaroz.
Other varsity returnees include seniors June Cranmer (middie), Hannah McGrath (defender), and Jill McIntire (middie), juniors Kiersten Hoglund (attack), Emily Holland (middie), and Erika Tsetsilas (middie), and sophomores Isabella Bourque (defender) and Caty Derhak (attack).
The team’s large list of newcomers includes senior defenders Jackie Luckhardt and Jill Murray, juniors Faye Brown (defense), Hannah Haggerty (defense), and Maddy Sullivan (goalie), sophomores Camille Lamont (attack), Dharma Paradis (goalie), Shannon Frasier (attack), and Meghan Jackes (attack), and freshman middie Sarah Duarte.
Coach Bob Slater sees Bishop Guertin of Nashua, Souhegan of Amherst, Bedford, and Exeter as front-runners in Division I, but he has every reason to be pleased with his squad’s 2-0 start.
In the two-goal edging of Merrimack during the middle of last week, the Lady Lancers led 7-4 at halftime and managed four more goals to the Lady Tomahawks’ five in the second half.
Breault and Derhak each tallied three times for the locals, Davison scored twice, and Breda Holland, Morris, and Tsetsilas each scored once. Morris also dished out two assists. Goalie Paradis contributed seven saves to the win.
But the Londonderry crew had much less trouble with Hollis/Brookline two days later, racing out to a massive 13-1 lead in the first half on the way to the 18-5 blowout.
Morris paced the Lady Lancers’ charge with five goals, the two Holland girls each scored three times, Davison, Breault, and Tsetsilas each tallied twice, and Derhak notched one marker. Keeper Paradis stopped four shots in contributing to the squad’s success.
“We have a lot of new players who will need to step up to rebuild our offense and defense as we have put in a new offense and defense,” said Slater. “The team mind-set needs to be driven by senior leadership and teamwork.”
LHS senior midfielder Emily Davison and the Lady Lancers trounced Hollis-Brookline in their home-opener last week. Photo by Chris Pantazis