Big 4th quarter seals Warrior girls’ lax 15-4 win over Wilmington

ALLA OTHMAN earned 11 saves in Wakefield’s 15-4 win over Wilmington yesterday. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

WILMINGTON — For three quarters at Wilmington High yesterday, the Wakefield girls’ lacrosse team was in control but not quite out of the woods. It didn’t take them long to find a path to victory. 

An 8-0 4^th quarter advantage for the road Warriors turned a tense, 7-4 game after three quarters into a runaway, 15-4 win.

Wakefield, who improved to 2-2 and 1-0 in the Middlesex League Freedom Division, played well enough to win in those first three frames but they reached a new level in the 4^th, a style of play they will certainly hope to replicate going forward. 

The Warriors were led by senior captain Molly Forrest who had 4 goals and 4 assists for a game-high 8 points. She had a hat-trick in the 4^th quarter to help Wakefield pull away. 

Senior captain Juliana Spaulding had 4 goals and an assist. Junior Leah Conners had 2 goals and 3 assists. Senior captain Kyleigh Formicola had 3 goals and an assist and sophomores Rory McNeill and Cara Carangelo each added a tally. 

It wasn’t just the attack that was at their best in the 4^th. In addition to Forrest and Spaulding going undefeated in draw controls, the defense shut down any Wildcat chances led by dominant performances from defenders like senior captain Lea Carangelo, sophomore Emma Ickes, junior Shea Suntken, sophomore Lila Arkinstall and sophomore Stella Carlino.

Sophomore goalie Alla Othman also had a terrific day, coming up with 11 saves. She made 5 in the 1^st quarter while both teams were battling for an advantage. 

Othman and Wilmington goalie Abby Driscoll stole the show early, each matching the other with impressive stops to keep the game scoreless. 

After the ‘Cats broke through first, Spaulding responded for the visitors scoring on a cut and nice assist from Formicola before giving the Warriors a 2-1 lead with 26 second left on a wraparound goal starting from behind the net.

The Warriors went on a 6-0 run from the end of the first into the second, taking a 6-1 lead into the middle of the 2^nd. 

Forrest picked up a couple of strong assists during this run including a draw control win and dodge all the way to the crease before dishing to Conners for a 4-1 lead. 

Conners returned the favor the next time down, finding Forrest to make it 5-1. 

Othman later made the save of the game on a free position shot, squaring up a bid destined for the top corner. 

The Warriors couldn’t find their flow in the 3^rd and the Wildcats made it a close, 7-4 game going into the final quarter.

Wakefield wasted no time in setting the tone in the 4^th as Formicola scored on a free position, Spaulding scored after creating her own look with a nice dodge and another Forrest feed to Conners made it 10-4 just two minutes in to all but seal it. 

Wakefield’s win came after two losses against Woburn (10-9) on Tuesday and Belmont (14-8) on Wednesday. 

They will finally get a break to get ready for a game against Waltham on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., which continues a run of seven consecutive away games.