By John Skelly — Lacrosse Contributor
With a compelling win over Weymouth on Friday, the Concord-Carlisle girls lacrosse team reached the MIAA Division 1 Final Four playoffs for the first time since 2015.
The team entered the playoffs winning 13 of their last 14 games, with an overall record of 15-5 and a ranking of fourth in Division 1.
The Patriots hosted the #5 Weymouth Wildcats on June 7 for a well-anticipated Elite 8 matchup.
The Wildcats quickly built momentum, scoring three quick goals early on in the first quarter. Coach Erin Cash called a time out, and by halftime, CC had clawed back and taken the lead by a slim 4-3 margin.
Strong team play end to end enabled the Patriots to continue to build their lead and hold the Wildcats to only one additional goal, ending the game with an impressive 8-4 final.
Anna Crowley did an stalwart job containing the Wildcats’ top threat while ninth-grader Avery Swenson and sister Hadley, Alissa Bono, and Goalie Grace Grogins held down the rest of the Wildcat attack with stifling defense.
The team scooped up 17 ground balls, executed ten successful clears, and had a season-low five turnovers.
Left-handed Scarlett Mirak rolled to a hat trick for the attack. Karleigh Mutch added two goals and an assist and dominated draw controls. Charlotte Skelly tallied one of her signature inside quick goals on a feed from Teagan Morrissey, who also scored a goal. Sarah Fortier scored a goal and dished out an assist as well.
Patriots vs. Peabody
In the round of 16 on June 4, the Patriots beat a scrappy Peabody High School (#20), which had upset #13 Belmont in the preliminary rounds.
CC came out strong, but a third-quarter Peabody rally brought them to within two goals of CC. A strong fourth quarter culminated in a 10-6 victory for CC, advancing the Patriots to the Elite 8.
Senior Captain Willow Cyr led the offense with three goals and three ground balls. Mirak and Skelly added two goals each. Morrissey, Lydia Karle and Mutch each had one goal.
Grogins turned away five shots and the defense created 12 turnovers. Crowley, senior Hadley Swenson, and juniors Bono and Isabella Couto anchored the defense.
CC vs. Shrewsbury
In the round of 32, the team beat Shrewsbury High (#29), 15-2. The defense and Grogins held the Colonials to no goals until the third quarter.
The defense forced 21 turnovers with Crowley, juniors Bono and Suhani Khandelwal, and sophomore Fortier leading the way.
Crowley, Fortier and ninth-grader Lindsay Cain scooped up three ground balls each.
Leading the offense: Skelly (five goals), ninth-graders Mirak (four goals) and Cain (two goals and one assist), Cyr (one goal and one assist), and juniors Karleigh Mutch (one goal and four assists) and Morrissey (one goal). Ninth-grader Vivi Myles and sophomore Hannah Feloney also had assists.
