On a day fondly known as “Westy Wednesday,” Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse faced off against a strong Westminster team —and they lost a heartbreaker, 12-13.
The two teams were evenly matched throughout the game as neither could pull ahead for a big lead. Co-captain Julia MacKenzie ’19 said, “We knew it would be a good game from the start. They have a very similar record to ours. We fought hard but ended up losing it in the end.”
In the team’s highest scoring game of the year, it moved the ball up the field efficiently, and capitalized on its chances. Co-Captain Emily Clorite ’18 contributed a pair of goals to the Choate effort, in addition to excellent all-around play. MacKenzie won game MVP, finishing with five goals. She had a great game and made some spectacular plays, but all 12 goals that Choate scored were a product of excellent team play.
Coach Courtney DeStefano said, “We had a number of beautiful full field transitions, which showed how far we have come as a team. It is a really amazing thing to see the ball travel the full length of the field from a goalie clear to finish in a strong goal. It makes the team feel really connected as a unit.” The girls capitalized on their chances and really made the most out of their opportunities. Westminster just happened to execute one additional time.
Despite the fact that it was a high-scoring game, Choate played excellent defense. Westminster has a very talented lacrosse team and this year it has scored 15 or more goals in a game three times. They have a knack for putting the ball in the net, but the Choate defense slowed them down enough to give Choate a chance at the win. Defensive stalwart Lizzy Mitchell ’19 was a big reason that Choate was able to slow down the Westminster attack. Goalie Gina Driscoll ’20 was able to stop the majority of Westminster opportunities that got past Mitchell and the stout Choate defense.
At the end of the game, Westminster scored to go ahead of Choate, 12-13. With 40 seconds left in the game, Coach DeStefano called a timeout to set up a play to give Choate one last opportunity to tie the game. MacKenzie said, “Unfortunately, it didn’t work out in the end, but we were all pretty fired up.”
There isn’t a lot of time left in the season, but the girls have had a strong season up to this point in the year and continue to put forth a strong effort in every game. Coach DeStefano said, “Our team’s biggest strength is our resiliency. Despite a tough loss, we did not put our heads down. The team has a great ability to push forward and learn from their experiences, even the ones that don’t end in a W. That resilient nature is supported by the leaders of our team, particularly our captains, who continue to set a strong example that hard work pays off.”
