Lacrosse action includes fundraiser

The St. Mary?s girls lacrosse team had a hill to climb Tuesday, needing to win both of its last two games to qualify for the state tournament.The Spartans hit the road for an early game against Winthrop at Winthrop and won 12-10, and then it was back on the bus for a game at Manning Field at 7 p.m. against Nashoba Tech. The Spartans won that one 12-7 to earn a trip to the postseason. Although St. Mary?s had played both teams earlier in the season and won, coach Al Eaton was still concerned, particularly with Winthrop because the first time around had been tough.This is Eaton?s second year as head coach. Two years ago the Spartans finished 3-15. The goal last year was to double the number of wins and they did, getting six wins.?This year?s goal was to qualify for the tournament,” Eaton said. “Rebuilding the program is what we?re trying to do. We?ve set our goals. We?ve won every game we were supposed to win, with some tougher than others,” he said.Although both games were huge because of the tournament ramifications, the second game was also special because the players were trying to bring attention to the Crohn?s and Colitis Foundation by wearing special shirts, emblazoned with “Brittany?s Buddies” on the front. Brittany is ninth grader Brittany McPherson, who has Crohn?s Disease. McPherson, who plays goalie in both lacrosse and hockey, has been active raising money for the foundation and last night, her teammates joined in the battle.In the win over Nashoba, Maggie Flaherty had four goals, Amanda Donahoe and Hannah Walker had two goals each and Katie Walker and Lauren Skinnion had one each. Emma Harvey and McPherson split the game in net.At Winthrop, the Spartans got on the board first, but found themselves in a 4-1 hole early on. They trailed by a goal at the half, but started to rally in the third quarter, eventually maintaining a two or three-goal lead the rest of the way.Donahoe and Hannah Walker each had three goals, Katie Walker, four, and Flaherty and Leenie Murphy, one goal each. Emma Harvey (14 saves) was in net.Danvers 11, Marblehead 10At Danvers, Lucie Poulin and Sydney Cayen scored three goals each, with Poulin adding an assist, to lead the Marblehead (12-7) offense.Emily Freedland scored twice, with singles coming from Adrienne Ciccone, Kelsey Detels and Casey Collins.?We played an outstanding game against a strong opponent,” said Marblehead coach Annie Pugh. “Our defense went into high pressure and forced two caused turnovers in under three minutes.?Games like this help to prepare us for the tournament,” she said. “We wish Danvers the best and we hope to see them one more time.”Peabody 19, Methuen 9At Methuen, the Tanners ended their season at 9-9 after losing five of their first seven games. However, they missed the tournament by a half-game.Leading the way were Sarah Napolitano (8 points), Courtney Smith (7 points), and Aly Bortone (3 points). Courtney Hennigan and Lauren Wolfe finished with two points each.The Tanners got strong defense from Alyssa Shashaty, Michaela Jacks and Noelle Koch. Gianna Denisco had 8 saves.BOYS LACROSSEMarblehead 8, Ham-Wen 7 (0T)At Hamilton-Wenham, the Magicians (10-7) pulled this one out of the fire thanks to Harrison Young?s winning goal a minute into overtime. Brad Knittle (3 goals), Brooks Tyrrell (2 goals); Ben Anderson (goal) and Nathan Maselek (assist) also contributed. Maselek (12 saves) was in net for the win.