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Triton girls fall to Weston in first round

Thursday, May, 29 By Evan Mugford
Staff writer

The Triton girls lacrosse program has come a long way since its inception, and thanks to its best season in school history, the Vikings and their head coach Stacey Beaulieu can look forward to a bright future.

Unfortunately for this year's squad, a group that finished 12-7, its postseason ended yesterday with a 12-4 loss to Weston. No. 8 Weston, which outscored No. 9 Triton, 7-1, in the first half, will play No. 1 North Andover Saturday evening in the EMass. Division 2 North Tournament.

The game started out in the road team's favor as both clubs remained scoreless for the first nine minutes. Triton drew first blood at the 15:50 mark when Erin Curley found Sarah Nardone (3 goals) streaking in front of the net.

The Wildcats responded with seven unanswered goals, and took a 7-1 lead into halftime.

The Vikings didn't look like their usual selves before the break. They were outhustled and lacked the intensity they normally would bring in Cape Ann League matchups. The Wildcats were precise and quick in their attacks, limiting a counterattack from the Vikings.

Goalie Kristi Davis' 14 saves were not enough considering Weston dominated the time of possession as well as shots on goal.

Though Triton came out with a tightened defense and scored the second half's first tally when Tiffany Stanton found the back of the net, the on-field Viking intensity was still hit or miss.

Triton seemed to be having problems in every facet. When the Vikins got into transition, they took inaccurate shots or mishandled passes. The Vikings did not win many ground balls, meaning the Wildcats would often seal possession immediately after the faceoff.

Despite its offensive meltdown, the Triton defense looked consistent in the second half, halting the Wildcat progression and forcing the offense into bad angles. But when the pressure is a constant, even a resilient defense will tire out.

Though Nardone scored twice in the second | one at 15:04 and the other at 9:05 | the Wildcat attack was too consistent. Weston went on to score the game's last two goals, and played catch for the game's final three minutes.

With the lopsided and uncharacteristic loss, Beaulieu couldn't explain why her team didn't play like itself.

"I don't really know," said Beaulieu. "I guess if I had known, we might have come away with the (win).

"We seemed a little flat, a little timid," said Beaulieu. "We seemed to be walking through the motions. And even when we had possession, we couldn't capitalize. It wasn't our best effort and I feel like the girls didn't have the right amount of confidence to come away with a road tourney victory."

With a team of eight seniors, Beaulieu explained that though every season has new potential and great individuals, this year's group of seniors will be sorely missed.

"I came in as their JV coach four years ago," said Beaulieu. "And out of the eight seniors, six of them played JV with me and then two years of varsity with me. Suffice to say, I've been around them for a long time, and I really would have liked to have seen them go out on a stronger note.

"They're a bunch of great kids," stated Beaulieu, who explained that not having those familiar faces will be a little weird come next spring. "My seniors did a great job of leading and they should be proud of the way they helped lift this program."