CUMBERLAND — Sophomore Courtney Sullivan did her best to make sure the Greely girls’ lacrosse team possessed the ball a lot Wednesday.
Sullivan won 20 of 25 center draws to spark the offense as the Rangers rolled to a 17-6 Class B South win against Cape Elizabeth.
At 6 feet, Sullivan seems a natural to take center draws.
But there’s more to it than just being tall.
“I try to see what’s open and where would be a good place to put (the ball),” she said. “Either to where one of my teammates is or where I can get to it before the other girl taking the draw can.”
“Last year we put her on the draw halfway through the season and she’s steadily been improving,” Greely Coach Becca Koelker said. “Both people on the circle work together to know where (the ball) is going and she tries to put it where they can get it.”
Sullivan won 11 of 13 draws during the first half to help Greely (2-2) take a 9-3 lead.
“Before this game we had trouble starting games quickly, and I think we figured out how to get excited before the game and come out strong,” Sullivan said.
The Rangers reeled off five goals in less than three minutes to move into a 7-2 lead with more than 15 minutes left in the half.
“We got caught on our heels a little bit but take no credit away from Greely,” Cape Elizabeth Coach Alex Spark said. “They played a fantastic game. They moved the ball very well. They should be extremely proud of the way they played.”
The Capers fell to 1-3. Earlier losses to Waynflete and Yarmouth were by a total of four goals.
“We stressed all game that possession was key, and (Greely) just had that quicker step off the line than we did,” Spark said. “I think at times they were just hungrier for the ball than we were.”
The Rangers held a 25-13 edge in shots.
Clarissa Campo, Greely’s sophomore goalie, made seven saves with most of them coming from point-blank range.
“She’s really great in close,” Koelker said. “She can really read (the shots) and get her body or her stick in front of them.
“We’ve been working hard to get her in the right positions, and she’s really improved on that.”
Sullivan and Kelsey Otley scored four goals apiece for the Rangers. Ellie Schad and Greta Van Curan each added three, Meghan O’Donovan had two, and Katherine Leggat-Barr also scored.
Susie Graham led Cape Elizabeth with two goals. Caroline Coburn had a goal and an assist, and Kinnon McGrath, Emily Healy and Mariah Deschino each added a goal.
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