Algonquin Girls’ Lacrosse Seeking First CMass Title
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Still, second-year coach John Healy thinks his team has the talent to bring the program its first title.
“I think we can win Central Mass and then move on from there,” Healy said. “That’s the goal, and I think we can do it. But, we lost 10 seniors from last year’s team, and five of them are playing college lacrosse somewhere. So, we’ve got some work to do.”
Yesterday’s breakthrough win over rival Westborough will certainly help matters. The Rangers have been the dominant team in the region lately, winning the last four Central Mass titles, and ended Algonquin’s season three of the past five years. Even with his team’s past struggles against Westborough, Healy stressed to his players that it is only one game in a long season.
“I think with Westborough, the girls always look at it as a big game,” Healy said. “But I just try to tell them it’s one out of 18. If we can just keep playing good five-minute intervals of lacrosse and improving, we feel like we can get to where we want.”
The 10-1 Tomahawks will get another crack at Westborough, with first place in the Mid Wach A league likely on the line, in the season finale on May 23rd. Despite the setback, a grinding 8-7 score in the win, Algonquin still has one of the most prolific offenses in all of Central Mass, averaging around 15 goals a game this year.
Leading the charge for the Tomahawks is senior Carly O’Connell. The talented attacker ranks second in the region in scoring with 91 points (46G, 45A), and will continue her lacrosse career on scholarship at the University of Oregon next fall. She scored the game-winner against Westborough to cap off a three-goal, three-assist performance.
Senior goalie Emma Decker has been fantastic in net this year, allowing only 7 goals a game and anchoring the Tomahawk defense. Junior Taylor O’Connell, Carly’s sister, has been solid on defense this season and grabbed 30 ground balls.
The Tomahawks have faced two of the state's best teams this year in Westborough and state power Hopkinton. Healy believes those challenging games will prepare his team for what is to come. He also thinks his team's best lacrosse is still ahead of it.
“When we put our schedule together, we try to get some of the better teams in the state on it,” Healy said. “To advance and get better, we feel like we have to play the best teams. We also feel like we haven’t played our best lacrosse yet, which is encouraging. We’ve played maybe a good 45 minutes, but not a complete 50 yet.”
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