SWAMPSCOTT — The Swampscott girls lacrosse team kicked off its spring campaign Thursday night with an out-of-conference matchup against Hamilton-Wenham. It was a see-saw battle throughout the first half, but the Big Blue took control of things in the second half en route to a 9-6 victory against the Generals.
Swampscott head coach Al Eaton couldn’t stop smiling once the final whistle blew.
“It is really nice to get the first win out of the way,” Eaton said. “It was great to come away with the win against a quality opponent. The girls really showed their perseverance in this game, which is a great way to start the season.”
It was an offensive explosion for both teams in the first half, as the Big Blue held a slim 5-4 lead at the end of it. The second half started off a bit slow, but the Generals tied the game 5-5 with 17:47 left on the clock.
From that point on, however, Swampscott seized control, outscoring the opposition 4-1 the rest of the way.
Eaton didn’t think his team did anything different, per se.
“We really kept the same gameplan and kept attacking on the offensive end,” Eaton said. “The end of the game really showcased the girls’ determination and will to stick together as a team. I felt we ended up tiring out Hamilton-Wenham, and they could not match us at the end of the game.”
The Big Blue broke the 5-5 tie at the 16:31 mark when junior captain Coco Clopton scored after drawing a penalty – going top shelf to beat the Generals’ goalie (6-5).
Three minutes later, Swampscott’s senior captain Abby Eichler took advantage of a penalty, beating the goalie with a rising shot over her right shoulder (7-5).
Then, it was a case of déjà vu for Eichler, who took advantage of another penalty and beat the Generals’ goalie up top to give the Big Blue a comfortable 8-5 lead.
Hamilton-Wenham scored to cut Swampscott’s lead to two (8-6), but sophomore Avery Laundry put the Big Blue back up by three after finishing a shot with 6:07 remaining – aka, the dagger to make it 9-6.
Eaton was impressed by the play of Clopton, Eichler, and Laundry.
“Coco and Abby are captains for good reason, and they played fantastic tonight,” Eaton said. “This was also Avery’s first game in a Swampscott uniform, as she was a transfer from St. Mary’s and played great.”
Eaton thought the star of the game was freshman goalie Lilah Caplan.
“I thought Lilah played off the hook today. She did a phenomenal job in net for us,” Eaton said. “This being her first ever varsity game, and for Lilah to play the way she did, was terrific.”
Eichler (4 goals), Clopton (3 goals), Laundry (2 goals) and Caplan (12 saves) led the way for the Big Blue. Swampscott (1-0) will return home to face Winthrop at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
Jerry DiStefano can be reached at [email protected]
