Windham girls’ lacrosse does not let up despite loss to Cape Elizabeth

By Matt Pascarella

Windham girls’ lacrosse team traveled to Cape Elizabeth on Monday, April 8 to play Cape Elizabeth in a preseason matchup before the regular season kicks off on Friday, April 12 when Windham takes on Kennebunk. While Cape Elizabeth had a strong start, once Windham got going, they put several goals in. However, after a hard-fought game where Windham stayed in it for 48 minutes, Cape Elizabeth won the game, 15-7.

Windham sophomore Maddy Donnelly, right, goes to stop
a Cape Elizabeth opponent on Monday, April 8 during
a girls' varsity preseason lacrosse game.
PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA

“Our team is really good at staying positive,” said Windham sophomore Olivia McPherson, who scored in the fourth quarter. “Even if we’re down, we always put in effort, and never give up. We need to work on passing in the eight, because sometimes they get intercepted or ground balls – those are something we struggle with. We did really, really well on our new plays. We’re putting new plays in, putting new people in so everybody gets a chance; always got to stay positive and play with a good mindset.”

Cape Elizabeth jumped to an early lead in the first quarter, but with 55 seconds left, Windham junior Grace Joly rocketed the ball past the goalie.

In the second quarter, Windham cranked up the intensity with junior Neve Ledbetter who scored early in the quarter. Windham defense made it a lot harder for Cape Elizabeth to get near the goal and limited their scoring opportunities.

“From this game we learned a lot about the importance of playing together as a team,” said Ledbetter. “We didn’t have that many days of practice, so we were coming out a little harsh – it was hard to get back into it. It’s good to start climbing the ladder to the actual season. The transition went really, really well; we have a ton of girls hustling on the ride. It’s important that everyone is hustling and giving their best effort. The whole team was pushing themselves to be better and that resulted in turnovers. We need more chemistry, but I feel like we are on a good track right now, we just need some more time on the practice field.”

Joly scored again. With 46 seconds left in the half, Ledbetter found the back of the net once more. Windham outscored Cape Elizabeth in the second quarter, though the Capers led, 6-4, at the half.

Windham’s intensity and hustle never faded; seconds into the third quarter, they took a shot at goal. A short time later Windham senior Emma Ammons fired another shot at the goal.

Cape Elizabeth scored several goals during this quarter, but Windham kept their heads up.

In the fourth quarter Joly scored almost immediately. McPherson scored part-way through the quarter as did sophomore Abby Trainor.

“We played 24 girls today,” said Windham girls’ lacrosse head coach Matt Perkins. “We’re still trying to give everybody reps before we tighten the belt to see who’s what and make sure everybody has enough time to prove themselves. Not practicing for four days didn’t help, but they’re a good team and we’ll continue to develop, it’s just a process. We had good hustle at times and at times executed the offense well. We got some brand-new people on defense, but it’s coming – it’s all about not getting beat up or worrying about making a mistake.”

Perkins and Windham girls’ lacrosse assistant coach Rusty Babb said before the team plays Kennebunk on Friday, throwing and catching will need work as well as knowing and being where you’re supposed to be. <