Published in the May 10, 2017 edition
By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield High girls’ lacrosse clinched its second-consecutive trip to the Division 2 North state tournament with a convincing 12-4 home win over visiting Wakefield May 8.
With that non-league victory, the Pioneers improved to 9-3 overall.
The Pioneers scored early and often in the game, amassing an 8-1 lead going into halftime. As the second half started, Lynnfield added to the margin, building a 12-1 advantage halfway through the second half.
“Lilli (Patterson) has been a dominant presence recently on ground balls and causing turnovers,” said Pioneers head coach Ethan Blanchette, whose team completed the season sweep over the Warriors.
The senior captain lead the team again with five ground balls and tied a team-record with six caused turnovers, while adding two assists. Junior Liv Smyrnios also picked up five ground balls and scored two goals, while senior Elise Murphy went for three and three in the goals and ground balls department.
Sophomore Ashley Barrett led all scorers with four goals and goalie Lauren Vaccaro (9-3) made five saves, including two in the final minute of the game.
Defensively, senior Lila Alaka, senior Rachel DiTullio, junior Hannah Filipe, junior Gracie Sperling, sophomore Sophie Ellis, sophomore Brianna Barrett, freshman Elizabeth Sykes, freshman Melissa Morelli and freshman Tori Morelli all played well in significant minutes, while holding the Warriors to just one goal until less than 10 minutes remained in the game.
Defeats Hamilton-Wenham
In the rain May 5 at Hamilton-Wenham, the Pioneers won 12-5.
Lynnfield started quickly against the host Generals, jumping out to a 3-0 lead after the first five minutes. Most of the rest of the first half belonged to the Generals though, as they scored the next four goals before the Pioneers put another one home to make the score 4-4 at halftime.
The second-half was a different story though, as Lynnfield won eight of ten draws in the second frame and methodically built a commanding 12-4 lead before the Generals scored their final goal with under five minutes to play.
Patterson led the way with five draw-controls and six ground balls, while senior Caroline Buckley and Ashley Barrett both recorded hat tricks. Smyrnios and sophomore Olivia Sarni each added a pair of goals, and Smyrnios also forced two turnovers in the win.
Loss to Lexington
On May 3, the Pioneers fell at home to Lexington 6-1. The Minutemen are a Division 1 team and the locals are in first place in the Middlesex League Liberty division.
Upcoming games
On Friday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m., the Pioneers visit Triton. On Monday, May 15 at 3:30 p.m., the locals visit Manchester-Essex.
