The Windham High varsity girls’ lacrosse team played their first preseason match against Massabesic in Waterboro on Monday, April 7. WHS jumped out to a strong start early and commanded the field in the first half, where they scored over a half-dozen goals. Their defense held back the Mustangs to earn a 13-5 win.
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| Windham freshman Brooklyn Roy makes her way by Massabesic opponents during a preseason girls' lacrosse scrimmage at Massabesic High School in Waterboro on Monday, April 7. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA |
“It was our first scrimmage against somebody else, which was great,” said Windham girls’ lacrosse head coach Matt Perkins. “You really don’t know; we’ve been on half field, we’ve been in the parking lot, so to have a full field ... for the first time, I thought they played hard, played well. Definitely the effort was great, the hustle was great and even when we dropped the ball, kids hustled to get after it, they didn’t hang their head, that’s encouraging. We could do a better job passing the ball on the edges and not taking chances and throwing it away. I love the effort and the attitude has been phenomenal.”
Within a matter of seconds of the preseason matchup, Windham senior Grace Joly scored. Then junior Neve Ledbetter found the back of the net. Windham had control of the field, and their defense kept back Massabesic.
Windham was first to the ball and scored again and again throughout the first half. Freshman Brooklyn Roy scored, then junior Abby Trainor found the back of the net. Junior Olivia McPherson scored before the end of the first quarter and WHS led, 5-0.
Trainor said the team had worked on wall-ball during the winter as well as spent time in the weight room. This had improved their chemistry while uniting and strengthening skills before the start of preseason. Trainor said their transition went really well; they connected on passes and moved the ball down the field, seeing those open players to pass to.
The second quarter saw a procession of WHS players who found the back of the net. Windham led 9-2 halfway through the game.
“We definitely put in the work through the preseason, we were working hard every single day; that showed today and will put us in a good place for the upcoming games,” said Roy. “The hard work we’ve put in in the past week enabled this win. Everyone has been showing up and putting in the effort. I thought our transitions were really good. We got the ball down the field really fast and that helped us score goals more.”
Windham pressured at the start of the second half. Their defense remained strong, and they continued to move the ball quickly.
Massabesic’s defense improved in the second half, and it made a small comeback, but it was not enough as Ledbetter scored again. McPherson and Trainor did as well toward the end of the game. Windham’s defense remained excellent right up until the final buzzer.
“We’ve been working extremely hard over the past week of preseason,” said Ledbetter. “We come out really hard, step right on that field and we are completely in that lacrosse mindset. It definitely shows for the rest of the season that we can come out and win and be powerful as a team and have each other’s backs. Our defense really stepped up; we’re learning new stuff all the time ... we rose to the occasion and played extremely well.” <
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