RallyNorth.net

Hornets close out Vikings with seven-goal burst

Wednesday, May, 21 By Richard Slate
Staff writer

Like basketball, lacrosse is a game of runs.

How else could you explain yesterday's girls lacrosse game between Manchester Essex and Triton ? The Hornets were up 6-2 at the half before the Vikings tied it at six and later eight. Finally, Manchester Essex closed the game with an impressive seven-goal run en route to a 15-8 win. The Hornets (7-6) never trailed but the margin didn't feel safe until the final whistle.

"It was the draws and definitely ground balls," said Manchester Essex senior attack Annelise Brosch, in regards to what was the key to the seven-goal spurt. "We were all over the ground balls during the run. Every ground ball, there were two of us there to make sure we picked it up."

Junior Simone Bodmer-Turner led the Hornets offense with four goals and two assists, Brosch scored four goals, senior Molly Osborne tallied three goals, junior Annie Osborne scored twice and had an assist while senior Hayley Irwin managed a goal and two assists. Senior Molly Foye had the other goal while senior Sarah Merullo, sophomore Caroline Moore and junior Shane Gordon each had assists.

The three main elements of a win in lacrosse usually boil down to ground balls, draw controls (face-offs in boys lacrosse) and possessions. When you have all three working in your favor, you'll pretty much always win as the Hornets proved.       

"I think the long possessions were important for us," noted Manchester Essex head coach Sarah Holch. "We were working really hard on getting as many possessions as we could but also when we had the ball, we were trying to take care of it and not turn it over."

After cutting in front of the net, Foye received a pass from Annie Osborne and scored the first goal. Triton's Erin Loughlin intercepted a pass in the Hornets defensive end, went to the cage and scored to tie it.

Manchester Essex's passing game was on point as Irwin found Brosch behind the Vikings defense and Brosch put the Hornets up 2-1. Sarah Peterson tied it up for Triton before the Hornets went on a four-goal rally into halftime.

Bodmer-Turner began the run with a nice drive to the goal, Merullo scooped up a ground ball and assisted on another Bodmer-Turner goal and then Triton took a timeout. Irwin notched a goal off a transition pass from Moore and Annie Osborne scored with a few seconds left in the half.

Triton came out hard in the second half and tied the game at six only a few minutes in. Twice in a row, Viking Erin Curley won the draw control, went to the net and scored. Later, Michelle Godfry added two straight goals to knot the score at six.

"When we first came out in the second half, I was a little worried when they tied it but we just had to get our head back into the game and get our intensity back up," Bodmer-Turner explained. "We switched up, I started taking the draws so the ball started going different places which changed their game plan."  

Molly Osborne beat multiple defenders on a pretty individual move to help Manchester Essex regain the lead at 7-6. Bodmer-Turner pushed the lead back to two goals before Godfry and Sarah Peterson both found the back of the net to tie it again, this time at eight.

From there, Manchester Essex seemed to do everything right. Brosch scored after Gordon won the draw and fed her near the net. Annie Osborne scooped up a ground ball near Triton goalie Kristy Davis (11 saves) and fired it in. Brosch notched another goal and then Molly Osborne effectively iced it with a free-position shot that made it 12-8.

The final goals were provided by Brosch (from Bodmer-Turner), Bodmer-Turner and Molly Osborne, who scored with one second left for the exclamation point. Manchester Essex goalie Vicki Grimes finished with seven saves.

"It's really nice to pick up the win cause this was the last home game for the seniors," Brosch said. "Our passing around the goal especially toward the end on attack was really good. We were very patient and we made it happen. At the beginning and end of the game we really pulled it together."  

It's a busy week for the Hornets as they travel to Pentucket today and Wilmington tomorrow.

One win away from wrapping up a tournament spot, Manchester Essex didn't need extra motivation but they found it since they lost to Triton 11-10 in double overtime back on April 17.

"We were missing some of our top players the last time but we had a full team today," said Holch. "It's a big win for the seniors. It always feels good to beat Triton. We've been working really hard on our passing and it showed."