AUGUSTA
Most teams begin the season with sights on the playoffs, and with the new alignment in girls lacrosse this year, even more teams will taste postseason play this June.
Wednesday’s Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference battle between Morse and host Cony appeared to be a tune up for the playoffs for both teams. Entering the game, the Rams and Shipbuilders held the last two playoff spots in the State Class B Heal Points.
The Rams received five second-half goals and tightened up their defense in the final 10 minutes of play to slip past the Shipbuilders, 11-10.
Cony improved to 7-5 with the win, while Morse dropped to 5-7 as both teams await the final standings.
After losing 14-13 in overtime to Lewiston on Tuesday, Morse won the opening draw control and marched down the field. After passing the ball four times, the middle opened up and Emily Belanger found Mae Winglass for the game’s first score 1:38 into the contest.
Cony answered four minutes later when senior Lauren Coniff passed to classmate Sarah Caron, where she beat Morse goalie Abby Sreden to even the score. The Rams took the lead on an unassisted goal by Sydney Avery at 17:21.
Morse followed up with three unanswered goals, getting all three scores from sophomore Emily Martin. Winglass was instrumental, making the right passes at the right time and garnering a pair of assists.
Trailing 4-2, Coniff muscled her way through the middle and fired in the Rams third score of the afternoon, but Martin answered 14 seconds later after Mollie Crosby won the draw control for the ’Builders.
Sophomore Faith Leathers-Pouliot tallied the next two goals with helpers from Cammie Osborne on both scores as the Rams tied the score, 5-5, with 3:49 remaining in the first half.
After Belanger assisted on a Sydney Moore score for Morse, Leathers-Pouliot tied the score with an unassisted goal at 2:24 remaining.
Each team closed out the half playing keep away as the score remained tied at the intermission.
Not only was the score even, but the statistics were relatively deadlocked as Cony outshot Morse, 14-12, while the visitors held the advantage in draw controls, 8-5, in the first 25 minutes. Sreden made seven saves in net, while her counterpart, Sarah Cook-Wheeler turned away four for the Rams.
Second half
Much like the first half, the teams opened the second trading goals in the first five minutes. Kami Lambert gave Cony the brief lead with a goal just 34 seconds into the half before Maddie McDonough tied the score at 7.
“They’re an aggressive team, and we wanted to make sure we kept up with them and keep putting up shots,” senior Olivia Carosi said.
At 14:31, after the teams once again traded goals, Cony’s Osborne gave the Rams a 9-8 lead with goal, beating goalie Zenaide McCarthy, who came into the net after halftime.
Like clockwork, Morse tied the score when Martin registered her fifth goal of the game at 13:13.
With just over 11 minutes left in the game, Morse was called for a two-minute penalty, leaving the ’ Builders down a player. Cony capitalized, knocking one into the back of the net off the stick of freshman Sierra Clark.
After winning the draw control, Winglass was able to tie the game, this time short-handed, 10-10, with 10: 18 remaining in the game.
However, just 13 seconds later, Caron scored her third goal of the game, giving the Rams an 11-10 lead.
Not satisfied with the one-goal advantage, Cony continued to put pressure on the Morse defense, but it was McCarthy and company that kept Cony from adding to its lead. The senior goalie stopped a pair of point-blank shots from Lambert for saves and keep the deficit at one goal.
Morse was called for a pair of infractions late in the contest, giving the Rams a two-player advantage for a minute-and-a-half. Again, the Morse defense rose to the occasion, keeping the Rams off the scoreboard.
“I give a lot of credit to my defense out there,” McCarthy said. “ Being down a couple of players because of yellow cards and playing like they did, keeping them out of the circle, shows a lot about them.”
Once Morse got back to full- strength, time was running out and the Shipbuilders were not able to get any shots off in the final minute to fall, 11-10.
“ I hope we see them again,” Carosi said with the potential the two teams meet again in a prelim game next week.
Caron and Leathers- Pouliot each had three goals for the Rams, while Coniff, Avery, Lambert, Osborne and Clark each had one. Osborne also had two assists in the win.
Martin completed the afternoon with five goals, followed by Winglass and McDonough each scoring a pair. Moore scored the final tally for Morse. Winglass and Belanger each had two assists in the loss.
Cook-Wheeler had eight saves in the win, while Sreden and McCarthy combined for 12 stops for Morse.
Cony 11, Morse 10
At Augusta
Morse — 6 4 — 10
Cony — 6 5 — 11
Goals — (Mo) Emily Martin 5, Mae
Winglass 2, Maddie McDonough 2,
Sydney Moore; (C) Sarah Caron 3,
Faith Leathers-Pouliot 3, Lauren
Coniff, Sydney Avery, Kami Lambert,
Cammie Osborne, Sierra Clark.
Assists — (Mo) Mae Winglass 2,
Emily Belanger 2; (C) Cammie
Osborne 2, Lauren Coniff.
Shots — Cony 26-22.
Saves — (Mo) Abby Sreden 7,
Zenaide McCarthy 5; (C) Sarah
Cook-Wheeler 8.
Draw controls — Morse 12-11.
Records — Cony 7-5, Morse 5-7
Up next for the Shipbuilders —
State Class B tournament, TBD.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
