By DAN PAWLOWSKI
WAKEFIELD — Senior captain Bella Dimare earned her second shutout in a row and the Wakefield girls’ lacrosse team put up 10 second-half goals on their way to a 14-0 win over Stoneham on April 25 at Landrigan Field.
It was Wakefield’s third consecutive win as they improved to 3-3 on the season.
The Warriors went on to beat Wilmington 12-4 on Wednesday. In addition to their fourth straight win, that also brought their record against the Middlesex League’s Freedom Division to 2-0.
“Their goal is to get a banner and this is a step in the right direction,” said head coach Cara Luca about her team’s dream of winning a league title.
Dimare and Wakefield’s defense was strong from start to finish against the Spartans.
The senior captain tallied nine saves and was especially impressive in the first half, keeping the visitors off the board while the Warrior attack was seeking a rhythm that wasn’t quite there early despite two goals from Grace Seabury and one each from captain Kaylee O’Rourke and Katherine Taylor.
“First half, I don’t know what was going on – we kept turning it over, dropping the ball,” said Luca. “I told them we have to work on our passing and going to the net in the second half. We didn’t want to give Stoneham time to set up their defense.”
MARY ROSE ANJIM looks for a teammate while clearing the defensive zone against Stoneham on Monday. The Warrior defense worked well together in Wakefield’s second consecutive shutout. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)
Those halftime adjustments worked to the tune of 10 second half goals as the Warriors ran away with it.
Taylor’s second half hat trick equaled four goals on the day. Seabury finished with three; Molly Forrest and Kyleigh Formicola both added two in the second half and captain Christina Covelle and Juliana Spaulding each joined O’Rourke with one. Forrest, Taylor and captain Angelina Nardone were all credited with assists.
“We transitioned to the net very well in the second half,” said Luca. “There were a lot of smart passes – instead of just carrying straight to the net they were finding the open person which is good. Things are coming together – they’re progressing.”
Luca’s top example of that type of unselfish team play was when Forrest had a free position shot and rather than shooting like so many do in that situation, she hit Seabury with a perfect dish left of the cage and Seabury cashed in to give the home team a 7-0 lead early in the second stanza. That goal opened the flood gates as Wakefield’s lead reached double digits just three minutes later when Forrest scored two in row and Covelle converted on a quick shot.
All the while, Dimare and Wakefield’s defense, led by defenders Nardone, Mary Rose Anjim and Isabella Birchem, were lights out.
“The defense has been really strong this year, that’s one of the things that we keep improving in every game,” said Luca. “Bella is the heart and soul of our team. When she’s on, we’re all on.”
Dimare was certainly on from Stoneham’s very first shot which she caught and cleared with a perfect pass to Taylor. The captain also saved a couple free position shots winning multiple one-on-one battles between goalie and shooter.
Nardone was all over the field early, setting the tone for the defense with multiple interceptions and great anticipation.
Wakefield’s first goal came about 12 minutes in after Molly Berinato cleared it and O’Rourke later tapped a loose ball along the turf to get past a couple Spartans before picking it up and finishing low for the 1-0 lead.
After a Spaulding clear and strong ground ball awareness in the offensive zone again, this time from Elise Theriault, Taylor battled for possession in front, recovered and scored.
Seabury’s first came after Nardone picked off another pass and carried in. She found Seabury in front of the Stoneham goal and the junior made one composed spin move to beat a defender before shooting it in.
BELLA DIMARE looks a Stoneham shot into the netting of her stick. The senior captain had 9 saves and earned her second shutout of the season in a 14-0 victory on April 25 at Landrigan Field. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)
Seabury concluded the half off by showcasing her speed after recovering the ball in her own zone. She flew across the field, weaving past defenders before finishing the play with a top shelf rip to give her team a 4-0 lead and Dimare saved another free shot just before the break.
Wakefield was in control in the first, but turnovers left plenty of goals on the table. That wasn’t the case in the second half as Wakefield found another gear.
Spaulding mimicked Seabury going coast to coast for Wakefield’s first of the second half.
Meanwhile, O’Rourke continued to win faceoffs and give her offense plenty of chances to convert, chances that the Warriors took advantage of.
Taylor scored on a free shot to make it 6-0 and the strong scoring sequence from Forrest helped Wakefield take complete control.
The Warriors will put their four-game winning streak on the line today at 4 p.m. when they host Medford. Wakefield gets back into league play on Wednesday when they travel to Belmont at 4:30 p.m.
