YARMOUTH – A 14-4 victory over Freeport seemed to be a routine opener for the North Yarmouth Academy girls’ lacrosse team Thursday.
But a closer look enabled the defending state Class B champion Panthers to focus on what they need to fine-tune to stay competitive among the state’s top teams.
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Lilly Wellenbach, Rozi Smith and Megan Fortier each scored three goals for the Panthers in the season opener for both teams. Lauren Easler led the Falcons with two goals.
“We have a core group of girls and we have a good sense of how we all play, but we’re still working on getting in shape and calming down,” Wellenbach said. “We know we’re able to play. We just want to use our heads and continue to be patient and work on our patience.”
In that same vein, the Falcons quickly had to find their tempo and intensity after only one day of outdoor practice during the preseason.
“This is only our second day on the field,” Freeport Coach Karin Kurry said. “I was really pleased.
“We lost, but our defense looked good. We played zone strong. And we hadn’t even practiced on a field that was lined.
“We don’t have turf and we’ve had to practice in the gym. But our goalie (Molly Lane) looked awesome, and how many days of practice have we had now, 10 or 12? She looked awesome. At the end of the game, she was still in it.”
The Panthers scored five times in the first 10 minutes and planted themselves in the Falcons’ end of the field. NYA’s defense allowed Freeport to cross midfield only six times in the first half.
NYA outshot the Falcons 11-1 in the first half and goalie Nikolle Storey didn’t get her first touch on the ball until nearly nine minutes into the game when she took a pass from behind the goal and turned to feed the ball to a teammate as NYA moved its offense up the field.
The Falcons put their first shot on goal with 6:16 left in the first half — and scored. The Panthers responded with a pair of goals in the final 1:37 of the half to take a 10-1 halftime lead, then scored two goals in the first five minutes of the second half.
“We went into the second half wanting to continue playing hard on defense and really working on settling down,” Wellenbach said. “And when we made turnovers, we focused on getting the ball back. That was our main focus: focus on defense.”
The Falcons gained momentum in the last 15 minutes, scoring two of their three second-half goals in that time, and they put five shots on Storey, who finished with four saves.
Jess Hench and Jocelyn Davee each scored a goal for Freeport and Lane made five saves. Like the Panthers, the Falcons regarded the opener as a measuring stick.
“We now know what we need to work on,” Kurry said. “We have to get outside and use the field to spread out, and we need to be able to maintain our intensity.”
Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be reached at 791-6415 or at:
rlenzi@pressherald.com
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