SENIOR MEGHAN Maher had a giant 6 goals against Shawsheen Tech during Melrose’s 17-5 victory on Monday. (photo by Raj Das, edphotos.com)
Update post-publication: Melrose defeats Watertown 13-5 (4/26)
17-5 Shawsheen win has them in victory column
By JENNIFER GENTILE
WILMINGTON—The Melrose High girls’ varsity lacrosse team picked up an overwhelming 17-5 win over Shawsheen Tech on Monday, April 24 on the road in Wilmington.
Leading scoring for Melrose was senior Meghan Maher with six goals, Jill Frawley with 4, Alison Doherty with 3, and Sofia Pitcher and Cailyn MacDonald with 2 a piece.
As Melrose’s mid-season approaches, and power rankings on the horizon, it’s an important win for Melrose, time wise. Melrose head coach Matt Galusi credits midfield work in particular for this victory. “Jill Frawley has been outstanding in the midfield and is working very well with Meg Casey and Sofia Pitcher. That unit is very strong on both sides of the ball.”
Frawley had 13 ground balls, caused 4 turnovers and had 4 goals and 3 assists. He notes, “That is as complete a game from a midfielder as I have seen in quite a long time. Defensively she was a force, shutting down whomever she was covering and grabbing any ground ball that was near her. Offensively she was equally as impressive with not only scoring prowess but distribution of the ball to her open teammates.”
He also tipped his cap to senior captain Meg Casey, who set up much of the scoring. “Meg has been great all season long, scoring in every game except Shawsheen, where she took a back seat and passed up scoring opportunities to distribute the ball to other girls. She was very unselfish in her play.”
At the net, junior captain goalie Sofia Hitchman tallied 9 saves on 14 shots. She was aided by defensive work from Emily Lucien and Lindsay Teeven. “Defensively, we worked very well with Emily and Lindsay controlling defense,” says coach Galusi.
He hopes that this kind of energetic display continues as they enter the second half of the season. “We still have many things to work on; develop more grit and mental toughness as a team. In 2 of our 4 losses we lost not because of skill level, but because the other team was just more mentally and physically tougher than us.”
Playing clean and ramping up offense will help too. “We need to understand that this game has peaks and valleys, and no lead is ever safe or insurmountable,” he says. “We still need to clean up our clears and take better care of the ball. Committing unforced errors that result in loss of possession.”
Melrose has some key Freedom League games on the horizon that could define where they fit in the league this season. First up in Watertown on Wednesday (post deadline) followed by Burlington on Monday, whom they host at 4:15 p.m. In the meantime, Melrose will focus on generating offense.
Says the coach, “We have a lot of skilled offensive players who have the potential to score but are inconsistent, but there has been potential in recent games. That said, it felt good to get that first win and we are hopeful to keep them coming!”