SWAMPSCOTT — Despite a second half push, the No. 6 Swampscott girls lacrosse team saw its run in the Division 2 North tournament come to an end Friday, falling 12-8 to No. 10 Manchester-Essex in a semifinal matchup at Blocksidge Field.
The Big Blue fell behind 8-1 midway through the first half before settling down. But despite outscoring Manchester-Essex the rest of the way, the Hornets defense was far too strong for Swampscott to climb all the way back.
“It was a tough comeback,” Swampscott Coach Jillian Robinson said. “We were close, and got within four. Their zone was just too strong. They have good sticks in the air and they were really shutting down our passes.
“It was a physical game and there were some tough calls,” Robinson said. “We were throwing the ball away. We sometimes just get in our own heads. That’s a good team. Unfortunately we just couldn’t get it to the next level.”
Senior captain Elizabeth Green ended her Big Blue career with a team-high three goals. Another senior captain, Reese Robertson, had two goals along with freshman Coco Clopton. Junior Broghan Laundry scored a goal.
Manchester-Essex couldn’t have drawn up a much better start if it tried. The Hornets first eight shots — even a long pass from midfield that inadvertently found its way past the goal line — all found the back of the net. Swampscott had plenty of possessions during the early going after forcing midfield turnovers and winning draws, but Coco Clopton’s first goal, assisted from Robertson, was the only brief pause in the Hornets’ burst of quick goals.
The Big Big finally gained some traction before the half. Robertson got things going with a far shot that slipped past Manchester-Essex’s defense and Green followed on the next possession with a nice move to the front of the net before finishing to cut the deficit to 8-3 before the half.
Robertson struck again in the second half, taking advantage of a free position to score and bring Swampscott within 8-4.
But the Hornets got a pair of goals back thanks to senior Lily Athanas’ (three goals) second goal of the night and another tally from freshman Ella Chafe to go up 10-4.
Swampscott scored two quick goals of its own next with Green assisting a Robertson tally and Harper Clopton assisting a goal from her sister, Coco, to cut the score to 10-6 with just 21 seconds left in the third.
Unfortunately, Emma Fitzgerald added a goal on the last play of the third quarter to weaken some of the momentum.
Broghan Laundry’s lone goal of the game cut the Manchester-Essex lead to four again early in the fourth but that was the Big Blue’s last real flash of significant offense. Green added her last goal of the game with one second left on the clock.
Swampscott ends the year at 14-4 and graduates its four senior captains in Robertson, Green, Jordan Waters and Harper Clopton.
Robertson (Kent State University), Green (Ithaca College) and Clopton (University of Cincinnati) will all play lacrosse in college.
“All four of our seniors are very talented,” Robinson said. “Every day at practice, all the way from the juniors to the freshman, they make everyone play at the highest level possible at all times. It’s really good to have those high competitors on the team because they make everyone around them better players. We’re definitely going to miss them next year but our team is young. Our future is bright.”
