Girls’ lax crushes NA, edged by Apponequet
By Jay TurnerThe CHS girls’ lacrosse team opened the 2013 season in impressive fashion with a 21-6 blowout win over North Attleboro on the road last Tuesday. The girls also played their first home game of the season, falling to nonleague Apponequet Regional in a high-scoring battle to end the week at 1-1 overall.
Junior Jackie Merrigan (Mike Barucci photo)
With a deep and experienced roster led by senior captains Meghan Lennon, Amanda Crowley and Jen Martin, this year’s Bulldogs are expected to be competitive in the Hockomock League and hopefully a contender in the Division 3 south tournament.
Although it’s still early, veteran head coach Chris Murtagh has liked what he’s seen so far — particularly on offense, where the girls have combined for 36 goals over two games.
The high scorer to this point has been Lennon, a two-time 50-goal scorer who had seven goals in the opener and four more Thursday against Apponequet. Meanwhile, junior Jackie Merrigan has been a revelation at the center position, dominating the draws while racking up six goals and nine assists.
“We controlled just about every draw [at North Attleboro],” Murtagh said. “Jackie did a fantastic job at center. She has been a huge help to us.”
Other top performers on offense have included seniors Meaghan McKenna (7 goals), Kaitlin Phillips (6 goals, 2 assists), and Martin (2 goals). Mary McNeil, Kelsey Trerice and Christine Ward also have a goal to their credit in the early going.
The challenge this season, according to Murtagh, will be how well the team plays defensively in front of an inexperienced goaltender. Sophomore Abby Mitcheroney, who has never played lacrosse before but was tabbed as the starting goalie, was injured in the game against Apponequet and was due to miss at least one contest.
Murtagh said the team will call up a goalie from the JV squad to serve as Mitcheroney’s injury replacement. This will put added responsibility on Crowley, the team’s defensive anchor, along with fellow defenders Becca Wysocki and Jackie Martin.
“We’ve been working a lot on our defense,” Murtagh said. “Our goal is to play defense all over the field — that’s the area we really want to just keep concentrating on.”
This week, the girls were due to play three games: Monday at Franklin, Wednesday versus Milford at home, and Saturday at nonleague Walpole. The team will also get a rematch with Apponequet on their home turf on Monday, April 17.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=20006
Posted by Jay Turner
on Apr 11 2013. Filed under High School, Sports.
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