Girls’ lax continues solid play despite losing 2 of 3
By Jay Turner
Junior Meghan Lennon and the Bulldogs are hoping to make some noise in the playoffs. (Mike Barucci photo)
For the first time all season, the CHS girls’ lacrosse team had a week where it lost more games than it won, going 1-2 with close losses to division leading Foxboro and nonleague Norwood to fall to 9-7 overall.
At the same time, the week was hardly a disaster, as the Bulldogs had a chance to win both contests and also managed to sneak in a 19-14 victory over Sharon on Thursday — the team’s second in as many tries against the Eagles this season.
Although it wasn’t their best win of the year, head coach Chris Murtagh said his team was able to overcome the slower pace of Sharon’s grass field and take down the Eagles on their senior night.
“It probably shouldn’t have been as close as it was,” admitted Murtagh. “But I give credit to Sharon. They always seem to come out and play us hard, and it goes to show that not one team in this league is a guaranteed win.”
Leading the offensive assault for the Bulldogs were juniors Meghan Lennon and Kaitlin Phillips, who combined for nine goals in the victory, while senior captain Michelle McNeil and junior Jen Martin both added three goals apiece.
The following night, the Bulldogs honored their own seniors prior to the start of the Norwood game, and then they went out and nearly pulled off an improbable comeback, storming back from a five-goal deficit to tie the game at 13 before losing by one on a last-minute goal by Norwood.
“We played well and we had a great comeback, but we just couldn’t pull it off,” said Murtagh. “We scored with 1:48 left to tie it, but we lost the ball in transition, and Norwood picked it up and scored with 38 seconds left.”
Despite the heartbreaking defeat, there were plenty of highlights for Canton, including senior Emma Compagna’s four-goal game in her return from an ankle injury.
McNeil also turned in a memorable performance, scoring three goals, including the 100th of her career as well as the game-tying goal late in the second half.
Lennon, who is also knocking on the door of her 100th goal, was held scoreless for the first time all season, although she did finish with two assists. Jackie Merrigan also had a big game, finishing with four goals, while Phillips and Shannon Proctor both added one goal each.
Earlier in the week, the Bulldogs suffered another painful defeat against Foxboro, falling 12-9 after losing the lead during a brief “lapse” late in the first half.
Murtagh described the loss as bittersweet — his team came to play and matched the Warriors’ intensity for most of the game, yet the game also got a little too aggressive at times, and the Bulldogs had trouble finding the back of the net.
Merrigan led the team with three goals, and Lennon and McNeil both finished with two. Senior defenseman Angela Sementelli also had a goal — the first of her career — after taking the ball the length of the field and finishing on a nifty give-and-go.
The girls had just one regular season game remaining heading into this week — at King Philip on Monday in the Hockomock crossover. The team will then move on to the south sectional tournament, which gets underway either this weekend or early next week.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=13867
Posted by Jay Turner
on May 23 2012. Filed under High School, Sports.
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