FREEPORT — The defense took control for nearly 25 minutes to spark Waynflete to an 11-7 win over Freeport in a Class C girls’ lacrosse game Tuesday afternoon.
The Flyers (2-0) built an 11-3 lead in holding the Falcons scoreless for a lengthy period of time beginning late in the first half and lasting until well into the second half.
“The defense was super strong,” Waynflete Coach Cathie Connors said. “We’ve been working on a lot of things, and they worked today, which was nice.”
Waynflete’s defenders seemed to collapse on the ball whenever a Freeport attacker cradled it near the front of the net.
“They were trusting each other and coming together when the timing was right,” Connors said. “It was a case of standing tall and keep your sticks up.”
Whenever the Falcons did manage to get a shot off freshman goalie Avis Akers was there to make the stop. She made seven of her 11 saves during the second half.
Play was even for the first 25 minutes with the Falcons holding a 3-2 lead with less than five minutes left in the first half.
“It’s just our thing,” Freeport Coach Marcia Wood said. “We’re there, and it’s like an emotional roller coaster. We’re hyped. We’re making good things happen, and we’re scoring and causing turnovers.”
The Flyers scored four goals during the final 4:08 of the first half to move into a 6-3 lead.
Freeport midfielder Jessie Driscoll drives around Waynflete’s Sophie Sangster. Freeport was held without a goal for a lengthy period of time beginning late in the first half until well into the second half.
“Everything was working and when we have that small drought and they take advantage of it, we get a few goals behind,” Wood said.
It took Freeport nearly the first 20 minutes of the second half to get back into the game.
“Their defense definitely picked up in the second half and made it harder for us,” Wood said. “We were waiting too long for our passes, so we weren’t feeding the ball in soon enough.”
When the Falcons finally did get untracked offensively, it was too late.
“We rallied, but there wasn’t enough time,” Wood said. “We’re (dug) ourselves too much of a hole to rally.”
Isabel Canning, a senior midfielder, sparked the Flyers by assisting on seven goals.
“She’s just a play setter and works really hard,” Connors said. “She has a beautiful pass.”
A lot of Canning’s passes went to junior attacker Ya Stockford, who had five goals to lead all scorers.
“We ran no specific play,” Connors said. “They were just moving the ball and happened to connect with each other. The next game it could be two other people.”
Taylor Rinaldi led the Falcons with three goals. Chloe Davidson had two goals and an assist. Margaret Perrotta and Regan Lynch each scored a goal. Taylor Dostie had two assists.
The Falcons (0-2) have been able to practice on grass just once this season.
“This is our second game and we only been out on the field once to practice,” Wood said, “so that was pretty darn good staying with Waynflete.”
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