National HSG Notebook: Lakers Eye Oregon Title
by Jeff Seidel | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
Jeff Seidel covers high school lacrosse for Lacrosse Magazine Online. Check back each week for his regional breakdown of what's what around nation. Submit notes or story ideas to jseid1234@aol.com.
WEST
The Lake Oswego girls' lacrosse had a mission at the start of this season. After losing in last year’s Oregon Girls Lacrosse Association state finals – to Oregon City – the Lakers wanted this season to be something special.
So far, so good.
At the halfway point, Lake Oswego is 8-0 following an 18-1 rout of Riverdale. The Lakers already have beaten Oregon City this season and are making coach Lauren Anderson very happy.
“They’re very motivated this season,” she said. “This is a group of kids who’ve worked very hard the last two seasons. They’re working very hard to finish business this year.”
Senior midfielder Kendall Guthrie leads the team with 39 points (24 goals, 15 assists). Sophomore Paige Timberg (16 goals, 11 assists) and senior Amy Schlesinger (16 goals, four assists) are right behind.
Junior Dana Kilsby helps anchor a defense that’s been both strong and consistent all season, something that Anderson stressed. Right now, the Lakers have the lowest goals against average in the state.
The Lakers, the No. 1-ranked team in the state, beat Oregon City, 13-10, and followed up with a 10-9 victory over cross-town rival Lakeridge (No. 2 in the state) in the same week. After that came a 15-9 victory over No. 3 Wilson.
“I think our key is going to be to continue our defense and to come out to every game focused and ready to go,” Anderson said.
The state tournament starts May 17, with the finals on May 27 in Beaverton.
MID-ATLANTIC
When C.M. Wright hosted Fallston on Tuesday night, the Mustangs gave last year’s Maryland Class 3A state champions a very simple lesson—it’s hard to win without the ball.
C.M. Wright took away the power from Fallston’s offense by keeping the ball for much of the game and scoring a 13-9 victory in an Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference game.
The Mustangs improved to 9-1 overall and 5-0 in UCBAC play, and kept things simple on this night. They won most of the draws and held the ball for most of the game. Fallston (5-2, 2-1) didn’t even get a shot until C.M. Wright had already taken a 2-0 lead.
“We wanted to win draw controls, ground balls and out-hustle them,” said C.M. Wright coach Brent Ritz. “We wanted to be in control of the [pace].”
Liz Johnson won many of the draws for the Mustangs. She also helped on offense, scoring five goals with one assist. Megan Will added three goals. Kaitlan Moynihan got two goals and two assists.
SOUTH
The Vero Beach (Fla.) girls are back again. A 24-2 rout of Olympia in the second round of state tournament play-in games last weekend put them into the state semifinals Friday against Winter Springs.
The Indians have won 25 straight playoff games. This will be the team’s seventh consecutive appearance in the final four.
Lucy Sexton paced Vero Beach with five goals. Erin Schroeder and Courtney Swan both scored four times. Swan also added two assists.
Vero Beach now has won 36 consecutive games.
NORTHEAST
Darien used a late rally to edge Greenwich, 15-13, in a Connecticut game earlier this week.
Cali Ceglarski led Darien with four goals and one assist as it improved to 5-0 this spring, according to the Connecticut Post. Lanning McDonald broke a 12-12 tie and put Darien ahead for good, finishing with three goals.
Corinne Sommi helped with three goals and one assist. Sommi scored the goal that gave Darien a 14-12 lead, the eventual game-winner.
Claire Feeney’s seven-goal performance for Greenwich was all for naught thanks to the late charge from Darien.
MIDWEST
Two girls did most of the damage, as Ann Arbor Pioneer (Mich.) rolled to a 16-10 victory over Tecumseh in a Southeastern Lacrosse Conference game earlier this week.
Amanda Murau led the way with five goals, according to Mlive.com. Stephanie Lang helped with two goals and two assists, as the Pioneers improved to 3-2 overall and got a victory in their first Southeastern Lacrosse Conference battle.
They needed those goals because Tecumseh’s Autumn McMillin tried to win the game by herself. She finished with eight goals, but it wasn’t enough.
Editor's note: Ann Arbor Pioneer followed with a 12-9 win over Detroit Country Day after this report was submitted. Lang notched six assists in that victory.
