By Meghan Foley
Hometown Weekly Staff
On May 7th, the girls’ lacrosse team (9–3) faced the Westwood Wolverines (9–5) at home. The Wolverines are known to be a tough team, earning the third seed in D2 last year and defeating the Raiders 17–3.
However, Dover-Sherborn was the first to score with a goal by sophomore Rory Hartnett. The Raiders played good defense and kept Westwood from scoring at all in the first quarter, with a good, though ultimately unsuccessful, shot by Captain Ema Claire Luczkow at the end.
Shortly into the second quarter, the Wolverines scored their first goal, drawing the defense one way and passing the ball to an open player by the net. Freshman Sophia Motley scored Dover-Sherborn’s second goal, the Raiders passing the ball around and looking for a weak spot in the Wolverines' defense. With a defender covering her, Motley stepped as if to drive a few times before running in front of the net and scoring with a bounce shot. The Raiders moved into the lead, but Westwood then went on a streak, scoring six goals in about six and a half minutes and quickly turning the Raiders’ 2–1 lead into a 7–2 trail. However, most were scored despite tight Dover-Sherborn coverage and displayed Westwood’s offensive strength as they came alive in the second quarter.
As the half was drawing to an end, Hartnett ran towards the net but was swarmed by Westwood defenders. Hartnett managed to pass the ball back out to Luczkow, who caught it off the bounce, spun around a defender, and fired off a shot from about ten yards out, scoring with 12 seconds remaining and giving the Raiders a boost after a disheartening quarter.
The Wolverines opened the third quarter with a quick goal despite tight coverage. On a later play, a Westwood player was unable to find an opportunity to shoot due to strong defense from Dover-Sherborn and tried to pass it to a teammate, but the pass was incomplete, and the loose ball was scooped up by freshman Elizabeth Williams. Williams ran up the field and passed it to Luczkow, who got by a defender and put away a high shot around the goalie’s stick. However, she had been pushed in the process, and the ref had called the foul before she scored, officially stopping the play and invalidating the goal, a call that would have benefited Luczkow had she not scored. The resulting free position led to the Raiders passing the ball around a little bit before freshman Waverly Spalding, who had had a great shot not long before, twisted by four defenders and scored with a bounce shot.
In net, Captain Isabella Morrill made a few impressive saves over the course of the game. In the third quarter, the loose ball resulting from one such save was recovered by freshman Quinn Cramer, who had to fight through a fray of players before passing it up to Williams. Williams passed to Hartnett, who crossed it to sophomore Barrett Saxe, who shot the ball but was unsuccessful.
The Raiders didn’t have to wait long for their next goal, though. Williams ran in from the 15-yard line and fired off a shot from the 5, scoring low on the far side as they continued to close the score, now 8–5. Westwood responded with a goal of their own two minutes later. Captain Nora Olson took the faceoff, and Hartnett grabbed the ball. Hartnett passed it to junior Anna Schneider, who took it behind the net where she gave it to Olson. Oslon came around from behind the net and scored with an overhand shot, only 21 game seconds after Westwood’s goal.
There was a scary moment in the Dover-Sherborn end after good defense resulted in a loose ball that Morrill scooped up. However, a Westwood player managed to intercept Morrill’s pass, giving her a shot right in front of the net, but Morrill was able to save the difficult shot and regained possession.
Williams had a good shot off of a pass from Spalding, but it was saved. Not long after, Williams was fouled while driving to the goal. A Wolverine knocked the ball from her during the free position, and Spalding picked it up. Hartnett ended up with the ball after a few passes but was overwhelmed by two defenders. She passed it to Luczkow, who had gotten open for her. Luczkow faked once and then made a successful shot with only about a second left in the quarter.
The Raiders had begun to close in during the third quarter, beginning the fourth down only 9–7. They opened it with a bang, Hartnett again grabbing the ball after Olson’s faceoff. Hartnett ran up the right side of the field and passed to Schneider, who went behind the Westwood goal and passed it up to Olson. Olson ran by a defender and kept the goalie guessing which direction she was going before making the shot with another defender covering her. With Olson’s goal, the Raiders moved into striking distance, one goal behind the Wolverines, who last year beat them by 14.
Dover-Sherborn continued to keep up the hard work, Luczkow recovering the ball after the Westwood goalie saved her shot, which led to a later shot by Motley that was also saved. The Wolverines were able to score another goal not long after and pulled back ahead to a two-goal lead. Captain Kate Dawley picked up a loose ball after a missed pass by a Wolverine in the Dover-Sherborn end and sent it to Hartnett. Hartnett ran the ball up the field and passed it to Motley, and Motley crossed it to Schneider in front of the net for another goal.
With a few minutes still remaining in the game, tying it in time felt very possible. Williams’ shot during a free position was saved, while Morrill made another save against an up-close shot. The Wolverines were able to put in one more goal, but Hartnett again was the one to come away with the ball after Olson won the resulting faceoff. Hartnett ran it up the field and passed to Schneider, who went behind the net and gave it to Luczkow. Motley cut in front of the net while Spalding ran in. Luczkow chose Spalding, who managed to get a shot off around a defender, scoring the Raider’s tenth goal with 2:59 remaining. However, neither team was able to score again, giving Westwood the win 11–10 after an impressive stand by the Raiders.
Their schedule can be found online at arbiterlive.com.
